The Scavengers
by myownmind
Summary: The final chapter of the West's saga. Reid and Hotch are found only to be lost again. Who have them and what do they want from the injured agents? Please read to find out. Warning: Reference made to previous sexual abuse. May be more, not sure yet.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds, any of its characters or any references I make to the contents of the TV show belong to the people who created them and the networks that produce them. I just can't resist borrowing them on occasion.**_

_**I do not own Supernatural, Jensen Ackles (sigh of disappointment) or Jared Padalecki (second sigh of disappointment) whom I've based Dave and Jared on. I just couldn't help myself. I've changed things but you'll still recognize the Winchester brothers and their alter egos.**_

_**I DO own Sheriff Hicks (think Michael Biehn), the Wests (Mary, Doug, David, Danny and Donnie) as well as Rachel Dunn.**_

_**Deputy Cullen is based on Skeet Ulrich. I again, couldn't help myself. But, think Paul Callen from Miracles. As always, I don't own the characters or the actors. But I sure would like to. **___

**THE SCAVENGERS**

Exhausted beyond words from pulling the two men up the hole, Sheriff Hicks dropped the rope and wiped his slick hands on his trousers. Once they were moderately clean, he wiped at his brow where sweat had built up during his exertions.

"Are they okay?" Hicks called out to his deputy. He could see the two men sprawled in the wet grass but he wanted his subordinate to confirm his hypothesis while he worked at untying the rope. Who knew, they may need the stupid thing again. Now that the rain was falling harder, he was having trouble pulling the short end out of its knot.

"Well, okay is a relative term," Cullen responded as he moved over to Hotch. The FBI agent seemed to be in the worse shape of the two of them. It was hard to examine him, though, Reid wasn't letting go for anything. As he knelt down on the other side of Hotch, Cullen realized that Aaron had a death grip on Reid's arm. Apparently he didn't want to be separated either. It had been a very long journey for both of them. "They're both alive. I think Dave may even be able to walk on his own, for a little while anyway."

"That's goo....." Hicks was cut off when he felt something cold and round bury itself into his right shoulder blade. Going still as a statue, Hicks scanned his immediate area with his eyes. All he could really see was the damned tree trunk, he'd still been arguing with the knot.

Instantly on alert, Cullen turned toward his boss. All he could see at his current position was Hicks crouched beside the tree, completely still. That in and of itself sent warning bells through the deputy's mind. Hicks wouldn't just be standing there if he had a choice. With the rain and the raid, they needed to get the two agents and the bounty hunter someplace warm and safe. Preferably somewhere that was highly populated by law enforcement personnel.

"What do you want?" Hicks said, a little louder than necessary. He wanted to make sure his deputy heard him.

"You," came a guttural answer. The rifle left the sheriff's shoulder long enough for the butt to impact the back of his head. Darkness descended.

_What the hell?_ Cullen thought as he came to his feet. As he watched, Hicks crumpled to the ground. In his place was a man holding a rather impressive looking rifle. He was wearing fatigues that had seen better days but had the bearing of a soldier.

"Put your gun down," the man barked, pointing the rifle at the prone Hicks. Even from this distance Cullen could tell that the sheriff was unconscious.

"Who are you?" Cullen asked being careful to keep his hands away from his body. He also tried to move a little toward the man who was standing along the tree line. Then he heard a rifle to his right being cocked. Their assailant wasn't alone. Going still, Cullen looked toward the sound. A second and third fatigued man stood there, rifles pointed at him.

"Well now, that doesn't matter much. Just give us your gun and we won't hurt the other three," the first man said, a very satisfied smirk on his poke marked face.

Knowing something bad was happening, Reid pulled Hotch a little closer and gazed through his wet bangs at the men. They were survivalists, even more hard core than the colonists below them. Glancing down at his boss's face, Reid was relieved to see that Hotch too was aware of something going on. "There are three of them," Reid said quietly as he continued to scan around them.

"Make that six of them," Dave said from behind Reid. He'd reacted instantly, gaining his feet and trying to put himself between the threat and the two injured agents.

It was while Dave scanned the tree line all around them that he'd spied the last three riflemen. They'd made sure to surround the group, taking out the most obvious threat first. Now they were concentrating their attention on the next logical threat, only occasionally glancing at the three men who were obviously injured. Dave wasn't sure but he thought he might be able to turn that to his advantage. It was better at the moment when they were outnumbered to play sick. They'd underestimate him in the long run.

"Don't do anything to antagonize them. We're out numbered and out gunned," Dave grated. He hated feeling this helpless but there wasn't anything he could currently do about it. The exchange between Deputy Cullen and the riflemen continued but Dave concentrated all his efforts on pulling his cell phone out of his pocket without letting any of their captors see. There was no signal. Somehow that didn't really surprise him but as stealthily as he was able, he took pictures of all six men and then hid the cell under a long tuft of grass that the rope had pulled through. With any luck, when Jared came looking for him he'd find the cell and have some idea what had happened. He hoped.

"Enough!" the first man barked, startling the four conscious men. "Get them on their feet."

Silently, the other five men entered the clearing. It was hard to pick out features. All of the men's faces were painted with camouflage paint. All that they could really see were their eyes but that didn't give them any feeling of comfort. To a man, their eyes were icy and hard.

They skirted the well and advanced on the agents and Dave. Deputy Cullen was itching to go check on his boss but he figured that wouldn't go over well. Instead, he allowed one of the riflemen to relieve him of his department issued side arm and his gun belt. Dave had been right. There wasn't any point in fighting. Gritting his teeth, Cullen stood quietly, one of the riflemen shadowing him, while the other four moved in on Reid, Hotch and Dave. It took every ounce of self control he possessed to keep from tackling the nearest one.

"They're injured. Please be careful with them," Cullen said. He watched as Hotch was pulled from Reid's grasp and the young genius pulled to his feet. As soon as he reached an upright position, Reid's leg almost gave out. The rifleman who'd pulled him up had been watching. Instead of letting him fall to the ground, he belt, got his shoulder under Reid's stomach and pulled him into a fireman's carry. Sputtering, Reid tried to protest but had trouble pulling breath in the awkward position. All ready his hip and thigh screamed in protest.

"They're going to be a whole lot more injured if they give us any trouble," the first man said. He prodded Sheriff Hicks with the toe of his boot. The only response was a low moan. Cursing under his breath, the man kicked out, connecting with the sheriff's left side, hard. The motion rolled him over onto his back. The rain falling on his upturned face forced Hicks to slowly come back to himself. Bending down, the man relieved him of his gun belt. Inside were his radio, cuffs, tazer, cell and night stick.

"Just so you don't cause any trouble," the man said as he peered down at the sheriff's face. Taking the cuffs in hand, he rolled Hicks onto his stomach and used his own handcuffs to secure his arms behind his back. Satisfied, he pulled the man to his feet and propelled him toward where his companions were.

The back of Hicks' head was on fire. The blow had ruptured the skin, leaving a trail of blood running down the back of his neck. As well, a large goose egg was developing. Hicks knew from the way his vision was swimming that he probably had at least a mild concussion. Shit, just what he didn't need at the moment.

"You seem to be very concerned about trouble," Reid said, having gained control over his breathing. "What kind of trouble are you expecting?"

"Oh, you're one of those ones are you?" the man asked as he strode up to the genius, his long hair hanging over his face as he continued to be suspended upside down along the rifleman's back. "I'll give you one warning. Keep your mouth shut. The more you talk the more trouble you'll be in."

"Be careful with him!" Cullen ordered as he automatically stepped forward. Two of the riflemen were hoisting Hotch between them. As soon as they put pressure on his side, Hotch cried out and struggled weakly to get away.

"Shut up!" the first man screamed. He struck out at Cullen, sending him rocking back on his heels. He had to stagger back a couple of steps to keep from falling. While Cullen was disorientated, the man spun him around, caught hold of his cuffs and similarly restrained him. Damn but these cops were trouble. "You all keep your traps shut otherwise I'll be putting something in them."

"Get 'em going," the man instructed his fellow riflemen. With a shove, Dave was propelled in the direction they wanted him to go. Just when he thought they were safe. He should have known with the way their lives had been going that no place was safe. Another shove and Dave was scrambling to remain upright. Ahead of him, Hicks and Cullen allowed themselves to be forced into the trees. They weren't willing to take a chance of the two agents being hurt and they were all ready several yards in front of them.

The rain had started to let up, the lightning dissipating during the entire encounter. But now that they were back under the tree branches, the water that had gathered on the leaves dropped to earth. It never failed that they somehow found the one spot on the captives' clothes that allowed them to travel under their collar, down the spine or anywhere else that was particularly miserable. Within minutes, all five of them were trembling with cold. Their captors ignored this, however, and continued to push them further into the dense forest. What light had been available from the dark clouds quickly vanished, leaving the three of them stumbling over downed trees, rocks and undergrowth. They'd gone from heaven to hell in a matter of minutes.

_**Okay. What do you think? Have I stretched it too far? Also, I wanted to apologize in advance. I keep switching Dave's name for Doug. Don't know why but if you see it please ignore it. I'm doing my best!**_

_**Susanne**_


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you ever so much for all the reviews and the story alerts. It makes me smile!! I really do appreciate it. I hope you enjoy the next chapter._

_Susanne_

CHAPTER TWO

The longer he was carried, the worse Reid's hip and thigh ached. He considered arguing with the man but knew he'd be ignored. Instead, he tried to concentrate on breathing. Anything was better than giving the pain any more attention than he had to.

All Reid could see was the man's back. Still trying to keep his mind off the pain, he stared at his captor's jacket, trying to get clues on who had them. The camouflage jacket was of a low grade, common variety. He guessed it could be bought at most discount stores. That didn't really tell him much. The fact that a long tear over the man's left shoulder blade was hand sewn did tell the profiler something.

Glancing down at the man's khaki pants told a similar story. Reid figured their captors were an even more isolated form of cult. Their clothes were well worn but not shabby. The fact that the repairs were done by hand indicated to the young genius that they either had no access to electricity or there was a lack of women. Reid hoped desperately that they weren't going to be looking to the five of them as substitutes. Memories of Doug flashed through Reid's mind. A chill passed through his body.

"Cold?" the man carrying Reid asked. Reid didn't bother to respond. He knew the man didn't really care.

"Shut up back there," the lead guy ordered. He continued moving through the dense forest. One thing that stuck out in Reid's senses was the fact that their captors made no noise as they padded over broken tree branches, rocks, and underbrush. Hicks, Dave and Cullen were making far more noise. Clearly these men were well versed in wood craft. That spoke loudly to Reid. Another shiver passed through his thin frame.

Having nothing better to do, Reid continued to examine the patch work on the back of the man's jacket. He could only see it well when they passed through areas of dim light under the tree branches. When he could, though, he realized he'd made a mistake in his first assessment. While the stitching had been done by hand, the stitches themselves were small, neat and painstakingly made. The work was too fine to be traditionally attributed to a man. Relief flowed through him. Wherever they were going there was at least one woman. Hopefully that meant the men were safe from being sexually abused. Reid wasn't sure how well he'd handle living through that again. Swallowing bile, he continued to stare at his captor's back.

OOOOO

The FBI agents and law enforcement officers were in a heated battle with the compound members. While they were usually fairly harmless to outsiders, the compound members were willing to defend their home from invasion at all costs. Morgan, Rossi and Emily were so busy trying to not be shot that they weren't currently concerned with Reid or even Hotch at the moment. They had every confidence in Hicks and Cullen being able to find Reid and take him back to the command center without incident. It never even occurred to them, given their current preoccupied state, that it had been a very long time since they'd heard from any of them.

OOOOO

_Damn it,_ Hotch thought to himself. He could not believe that he was being kidnapped again. The relief of finding Reid at the top of the well had been nearly debilitated. He'd given the younger man up for dead. Seeing his surrogate son's lean face gazing down at him, once his eyes adjusted to the light, had been like waking up from a nightmare. The wounds on Reid's lean face and on his body, however, scared the hell out of Hotch. He tried to ignore his own wounds while he was being carried but it was virtually impossible.

As new pain blossomed from his side, Hotch sucked air between his clenched teeth. How much further did they have to go? He wanted desperately to ask the question but he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. Besides, he didn't know if he had the breath to actually speak. The thought of what the 8 men might do to them as a result also kept him silent. Well, as silent as his injuries would allow.

The men carrying Hotch were strong. He could feel the power of their hands as they gripped his knees and in his shoulders. The BAU Unit Chief wasn't fearful that they'd drop him. What concerned him though, was that they didn't seem too worried about what kind of shape he was in when he reached their destination.

Now that he was basically lying on his back. Hotch was getting wet from the fall through, water droplets falling from the clouds, through the dense foliage, all the way to the ground. His back, closer to the ground and almost immune to the water was all ready soaked from the well water so it offered no protection or warmth. Staring at the man's back carrying his knees, Hotch tried to stop his teeth from chattering. He wasn't entirely successful. The sound seemed loud in the silence of the group.

"You need a blanket?" the man holding Hotch's shoulders asked. For a split second Aaron thought he was being sarcastic. Then he looked up into the man's blue eyes and saw no criticism there. While he struggled on whether or not to say anything, a spasm of pain flashed over his dark features as his side was inadvertently twisted. "Mike, stop."

More pain flashed and darkness curled around the corners of Hotch's vision. He gasped, trying to draw air around his side that didn't want to move any more. Unaware of what was going on around him, Hotch closed his eyes as he tried to gain control over his body. Between the spasms flashing through his side and the shivering wracking the rest of his body, Hotch's brain took over and shut down. He didn't feel it as his cold, wet body was laid on the cold, wet ground. He didn't feel it when his shivers turned to all out trembling.

"What the hell?" Mike grumbled as he none too gently let go of their charge's legs two feet from the ground. He watched as Hotch's legs hit the ground with only marginal interest. At camp his wife was making supper. He was hungry and just wanted to go home. Having to stop because the cargo was squeamish just pissed him off.

"He's injured, wet and cold. If he's going to survive getting home or be worth our while dragging through this God forsaken wilderness, we'd better stop and get him better stored away," the first man grumbled. He'd placed Hotch's lolling head gently on the ground. He had enough problems. He didn't need to add a concussion to the list. Ignoring his grumbling partner, the first man pulled two emergency blankets out of a small backpack he pulled off his back.

"What's the problem?" the leader demanded as he joined the three men. Behind him, he left Dave, Hicks and Cullen to be watched by his other man. They knew what would happen to them, to their families, if they allowed any of them to escape.

"We need to deal with him now, while he's still alive."

"Don't be so dramatic," the leader demanded. He looked at the man, waiting for him to back down. He didn't.

"Fine. Just do it quickly," the leader said. He glanced down at Hotch's pale, unkempt body and shook his head. Maybe this man wasn't worth the effort. Then he looked at the three men behind him and knew leaving him wasn't an option. The concern and fear on the three faces told him all he needed to know. They would risk their own lives to make sure he was taken care of. The last thing he needed was to lose all of them.

"What are you going to do with us?" Cullen asked. He heard Hicks hiss at him by his right ear. The warning came a fraction of a second too late. The leader didn't even look at the smaller of the two police officers as he lifted his rifle and thrust the barrel into Cullen's stomach, hard. The air whooshed out of Jack's lungs as he bent forward intuitively. He had to press his left shoulder against a tree trunk in front of him to keep from collapsing all together. While he struggled to get his lungs working again, his knees threatened to let go.

"That's your only warning. Next time, I move on to damage a little more permanent," the leader said, a satisfied smile on his weathered face. He watched Cullen vomit on the ground in front of him. Good, take a little of the cockiness out of the man.

As much as Jack wanted to smash the leader in the face, Cullen was too busy trying to get his body under control. Just when he thought he was recovering from his run in with Mary and Doug. Curses ran through the deputy's mind as he wiped his mouth on his right shoulder. Standing back up turned out to be a bit of a problem. Now that he was leaning forward, Jack didn't have his hands to push away from the tree. Growling, the leader caught hold of the back of Cullen's jacket and pulled him upright. He'd all ready wasted enough time on him.

"You done?" the leader grated at the two men struggling to wrap the blankets around Hotch and keep them there. Both men were getting frustrated.

"Do you want him to make it back to camp?" Mike's partner growled in response. He hated being bitched at, even by Tyler.

"Move faster. Once they're done wasting their time on those fools in the compound they might notice the absence of these ones. Good thing they were in shape to begin with. Otherwise, they'd be completely worthless," Tyler grunted as he appraised Cullen, Dave and Hicks anew. If they weren't desperate to meet their quota, they could put a bullet in all their heads and keep looking. All ready, he had a really bad feeling about this.

Hicks' vision had cleared fairly well. He glanced as his subordinate after hearing the leader's speech. A raised eye brow was all he'd allow as a form of communication. He was hoping that eventually, once they reached wherever the hell they were going, that their captors would leave them alone and they could try to figure this all out. They'd fallen into human traffickers or something worse. Hicks just hoped they got the hell away from them before anyone was sold. With the way things were going, he wasn't going to hold his breath.

OOOOO

It took some doing, during which the others got even wetter, but eventually Mike and his partner got the blankets around Hotch and were able to keep them there, thanks to the rope they'd collected from the tree.

Then they were off again, the captives in the center and the other five people forming a secure perimeter around them. Thanks to not being put down, Reid too was unconscious. His hip and thigh refused to be ignored and all the blood rushing to his head didn't really help matters much.

Following behind Hotch, Dave tried to keep a map of their trek in his mind. Unfortunately, all the trees started to look alike after two or three of them. While the senior bounty hunter knew a lot about a lot, identifying plants and wood lore were not among his talents. Still, he persisted. He had to feel like he was in control somehow. He was also trying his best to ignore his own injuries. They were all ready two men down. He didn't want to add to the total.

If possible, the forest was getting thicker. The only benefit to this was that the additional leaves kept what rain fell from travelling down to them. It increased their discomfort, however, by tripping them up on deadfall, thick undergrowth and hidden rocks. As they continued on, Dave had to admit a begrudging respect to their captors. The new conditions barely fazed them. Just their luck.

"Are you okay?" Jack whispered to Dave. He'd been trying to watch the younger man out of the corner of his eye but he had to watch his footing a little too closely. He knew he was risking a beating again but he had to ask.

"Peachy," Dave responded in a very low voice. He knew the man to his right would be listening. No reason to give them an excuse. He was all ready too stiff and sore. Getting beaten again wasn't going to help.

Further discussion was pre-empted by a sudden break in the trees. They'd reached a small stream. Despite just about being drown in the well and being soaked to the skin, the clear, cold water looked incredibly good to Dave. He realized he and Hotch were both probably more than a little dehydrated. As he splashed across the stream, Dave considered feigning a fall in an effort to get a mouth full or two. Then he was pushed from behind and stumbled up the other bank.

"We're almost home," Tyler stated from behind the bounty hunter. Then he shoved him again. He'd felt the tight, firm muscles under his hand during the first push. While these ones were going to be a pain in the ass, they just might be worth it. Smiling, he continued on. He'd spoken the truth. They were nearly home. Then the real fun would begin.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hi. Sorry this took so long. It's a bit of a transition chapter but it feels very awkward. I don't like it much but can't seem to get it right. Let me know what you think!_

_Thanks for sticking with me._

_Susanne_

CHAPTER THREE

On the other side of the small clearing was another stream, much wider than the first but just as shallow. Grinning to himself, the guard behind Jack and Dave moved up closer behind them and struck them on their right shoulder blades, hard. With his hands behind his back, Jack was unable to stop his forward momentum. The fact that the bottom of the stream was lined with fist sized rocks didn't help matters much either. Stumbling, Jack wound up falling face first against a large rock. The wet surface of the rock couldn't hold him. In the end, he was laying on his stomach in the stream, struggling to get his head above water.

For his part, Dave took three steps forward to keep his balance. Cursing loudly, Dave turned on the man, ready to beat the crap out of him. Instead, he saw Jack stumble and crash into the rocks. Still growling under his breath, the bounty hunter turned away from the smiling man, reaching down to pull Jack out of the water. The officer sputtered, spitting water out of his lungs while trying to ignore the blood pouring down from a jagged wound on his right cheek.

"Get moving," the man growled, still grinning. He'd enjoyed watching the two men struggle. He hated cops. Everything about them made him see red. He relished every chance to see them on their bellies, being the slime that they were. To emphasize his point, he caught hold of them and pushed them toward the others.

Turning to their right, the group was forced toward a waterfall. It was the same size as the stream, about 15 feet across. The water itself fell nearly 30 feet from the cliff above. With the dense forest they'd been trekking through, they'd had no idea that the cliff was there.

"We don't want to go in there," Hicks muttered. He was walking beside Cullen and Dave. The three of them figured they were better off to stay together as long as they could. Their captors were still carrying Reid and Hotch but were not watching the other three as closely. So long as they kept going, they were allowed to move at close to their own pace. An occasional push from behind let them know if they were going too slow.

"Go where?" Jack asked as he glanced at his boss. He thought they were being forced to wade through the water because the forest was too tight on the river banks. Looking beyond Hotch's carriers and Reid's, he made out the falls. Behind the falling water was a black wall. Jack's right eye was watering in reaction to the blow he'd taken. The deputy wished his hands were free so he could brush both liquids off his face.

"I think they're taking us behind the water fall," Hicks responded as he casually looked around at their captors, trying to find a way out. Their captors appeared to have expected this as they caught hold of the sheriff, the deputy and the bounty hunter and pulled them toward the wall of water. Within a few feet they were all ready getting wet from the spray. Dave turned his face away using his free hand to direct the water away, trying to keep the water out of his eyes. He wasn't very successful. The two officers, with their hands handcuffed behind their backs had even less success.

"Don't forget to hold your breath," Tyler stated with a large smile on his face as he brought up the rear of the column. Without giving the officers a chance to respond, the leader thrust them both through the sheet of water, causing them to stumble. They sprawled on the wet stone, the breath knocked out of them.

The world beyond the wall of water was dark. The sunlight from the other side only penetrated about one and a half feet. Immediately, the two police officers felt like they had gone blind as they struggled to draw breath into their protesting bodies.

Dave tripped over Jack's legs as he too was forced through the wall of water. Sputtering he wiped at the water falling from his soaked hair and wasn't prepared to catch himself. The bounty hunter fell on top of Hicks and Cullen, making matters worse. It felt like a Laurel and Hardy movie as the sore and injured Dave tried to extract his body from the pile while Hicks and Cullen tried to gain their feet. None of them were able to do it.

"Get them up," Tyler said, laughing. For good measure, he sent a kick at the nearest body. It connected with Dave's left side. The bounty hunter had just managed to get up on all fours without one of his limbs being on top of one of the officers.

In the darkness, with his head swirling because of being kicked, Dave felt completely disconnected. He didn't know where he was or what was happening around him because he couldn't see. Struggling to get to his feet again, Dave ignored the searing pain through his side and pushed himself up. Strong hands caught hold of him by the arms, pulling him off balance again.

"Don't worry," a male voice grumbled beside Dave's left ear. "I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you." The hands moved up to Dave's shoulders until the man was convinced that he was going to remain upright.

Grunts ranging from in front of Dave told him that the two officers were also being helped to their feet. Briefly his mind wondered how Hotch and Reid were doing. Then his mind turned back to his own problems. The hands were still on his shoulders. They were clenching and unclenching. The sensation sent a bolt of unease through Dave's mind. Tentatively, he tried to pull away but the hands remained. If anything they tightened just a little.

"I don't want you walking into a wall or something," the voice said in way of explanation. For the first time in his life, Dave felt fear for his body. This man was too attentive, too concerned. Dave knew there were ulterior motives but he didn't think he wanted to know what they were. Images of what Doug had done to Reid came flashing to mind.

"Let go of me," Dave growled as he tried to pull away from the man. It didn't work. The man used his hands to pull Dave backward, up against his own body. The unease turned to full on fear. "Get the hell away from me."

"No, I think I might keep you here, with me," the voice purred. Dave's stomach turned as his captor nuzzled against the left side of his neck.

"Leave him alone. He's not for you," a vaguely familiar voice said. It wasn't Tyler but Dave felt his captor being pulled away. Relief flowed through him as Hicks and Cullen were deposited on either side of him. Then the three of them were shoved forward into the darkness. Dave tried to catch his breath as his nerves continued to react. They needed to get out of here, right now.

OOOOO

Water splashed over Hotch's face. Sputtering to keep the liquid from making its way down his throat into his lungs, the Unit Chief forced his mind and body awake. Opening his eyes, he thought for a brief moment that he might have gone completely blind this time. Through a force of will, Aaron forced the terror that threatened to the back of his mind. He didn't have time to deal with that at the moment. As it was, the pain ravaging his body was trying to overwhelm him again.

Gasping, Aaron tried to move his arms and legs. He was wrapped in something that kept him from moving. He felt like he was suspended in a black world. The only thing that kept him grounded was the pressure on his shoulders and knees from being carried. Slowly he became aware of the thunderous sound of rushing water. The racket helped to further isolate him from the world around him. Angrily, Hotch pulled again on his limbs. The first time had elicited no response as he hadn't had enough strength to really accomplish anything.

As Hotch pulled his legs away from the man holding them, the man just happened to slip. While he scrambled to catch his footing, Hotch pulled. He was startled when his feet moved and then hit the ground. The movement had dislodged the ropes and blankets. He thrashed his way out of them. Recovering quickly, though, Hotch pulled on his arms, using the momentum he'd managed so far to put more weight behind it.

Pain exploded through Hotch's body, trying to take his breath away. Ignoring it for all he was worth, Hotch tried to roll away from the man holding his shoulders and come up on his feet. He got part way up before his body wouldn't be ignored any more. Hotch's side convulsed. He found the ground in a matter of seconds.

"You've got nowhere to go," a voice said from the darkness off to Hotch's side. As Hotch got up as far as his left knee, he felt the hands grip him from behind. Instinctively, the FBI agent grasped the hand and flipped man over his shoulder. The action didn't help the state of his side or the rest of his body but it helped his mind significantly. It helped to clear some of the cob webs out and to make him feel back in control.

Hearing the man thud and moan a few feet away, Hotch pushed with his arms, trying to gain his feet again. The world was still black. He had no idea of where he was or who was with him. All Hotch knew for sure was that he wanted out. Then a single image burned through his mind. Reid as he'd last seen him, hanging upside down, being carried by one of their captors. He wasn't going to be separated from the young genius again.

"Going somewhere?" The voice belonged to the man that had held Hotch's shoulders. None too gently, he caught hold of Hotch and pulled him to his feet. As soon as the agent reached an upright position, his knees tried to give out on him. The whole episode had evaporated every ounce of strength he'd had. The man caught hold of him again, pulling his left arm over his shoulder and directing him forward in the darkness. "Try that again and Tyler will think twice about keeping you alive."

"Why are you doing this?" Hotch croaked. He was suddenly aware of just how very thirsty he was. It was ironic after nearly drowning not that long ago.

"You were in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's all it takes, buddy," the man said. He pulled the agent a little harder against his side. The man had absolutely no strength left but he didn't trust Mike to lay hands on him again. Mike would be looking for pay back.

The world turned red in front of Hotch's eyes. The slight pressure against his injured side was all it took. Beyond the intense levels of pain flashing through him, Hotch felt something warm and sticky creeping down his skin. Bile rose in his throat. Then darkness descended again. Hotch lost consciousness.

"Whoa," Brent said as he felt the man slump harder against his side. He was glad that they were almost to the camp but he was concerned for the man too. If he was going to be worth keeping around, they'd better get him feeling better very soon.

OOOOO

The fire fight at the compound had finally wound down. The agents, law enforcement officials had managed to take the place despite intensive fighting from the inhabitants. In all, 14 compound members were injured, three killed. Six officers received minor injuries. Their vests had saved more than one of them but left numerous bruises and minor cuts from bullet grazes.

The three FBI agents had gathered near the community hall. The officers were searching every inch of the compound, looking for Hotch but had so far found nothing. Morgan wanted to pull the place down one board at a time. He was positive his Unit Chief had to be here.

"This is taking too long," Morgan growled as he prowled around the community hall. The building was secure but he all ready knew there wasn't anything inside. As he came back over to Rossi and Emily, an officer came out of one of the smaller huts a short distance away. He came up to the trio, excitement on his face.

"We've found a room. There are blood spatters all over the place. We've called the CSI's to come in and check things out," the officer said. "We've also found a compound member that seems more likely to tell us what we want to know as well."

"Where is he?" Rossi demanded. He stepped toward the man. Until this moment, he'd been preparing to find Hotch dead. The fact that the room was full of blood splatter wasn't a good sign but hopefully they would find out what had happened.

"This way," the officer said as he turned back toward the hut. The three FBI agents fell in behind him silently, each lost in their own thoughts. None of them wanted to consider the possibility that Hotch might be dead but they were still trying to steel themselves just in case.

Walking around the hut, the officer indicated a man standing between two other officers. Thomas glared at the men. He didn't want to break Michael's confidence but after seeing his leader cut down, Thomas figured there wasn't much left to be faithful to. Besides, he could see from the intensity on the three faces apprising him that they really cared for the man.

"What do you have to say?" Emily asked when the two men remained mute. She had the impression they were trying to keep from pounding the information out of the man. The fact that Rossi seemed to be feeling the same as Morgan would have been funny under any other circumstances.

"You're looking for people, right?" Thomas responded, turning his attention to the woman. In the men's eyes he saw his own death. It was a little disconcerting. When Emily nodded yes, he continued. "A man was brought to the compound a few days ago. He was badly injured. Then another man showed up and we realized there was something going on. Michael ordered us to put him in a well up on the hill."

Moving slowly, Morgan pulled a picture out of his back pocket. He held it out to the man. "Is this the first man?"

Thomas squinted at the picture. So that's what he would have looked like if he were healthy. The eyes and hair were the only things that really looked the same. Damn but the man had been through hell. "Yeah, that's him."

"Where's this well?" Rossi demanded. He turned as he heard someone running up on them. He wasn't especially surprised to find Jared crossing the distance between them rapidly.

"I'll show you," Thomas said. "It'll take less time."

"Fine," Morgan responded as he nodded to the two officers. "Come with us."

"I'm going with you," Jared stated. He'd all ready ascertained that his brother wasn't in the compound. Fear was pounding through his mind and body. It had been an eternity since he hadn't talked to his brother for this long. The silence was deafening. Jared needed to do something, anything.

"Fine," Morgan said as he followed Thomas toward the edge of the compound, three FBI agents, two police officers and a bounty hunter in close pursuit. "Just keep up."


	4. Chapter 4

_Thank you ever so much for your continued support! I love hearing from readers so please review if I'm doing something right or something wrong. It's how I improve my writing. Just because it makes sense in my own mind doesn't mean it will to anyone else. ;)_

_Susanne_

CHAPTER FOUR

Reid came around slowly. He was cold and his head was pounding to a beat very similar to the ones pounding in his hip and thigh. Only half way to the surface of his consciousness, Reid tried to assess his situation.

The cold indicated that he was not in his own bed. Well, that was disappointing. Then the images of what had gone on with finding Hotch and being kidnapped again floated to the surface of his mind. Damn. Moving his head hurt too much and he knew intuitively that opening his eyes wasn't going to help, so Reid spent a few minutes trying to get information from his other senses.

Under his fingers was loose soil. He could feel small rocks among the soil. Under the thin layer, though, he found hard, semi-smooth rock. Running his fingers over the rock, he realized that while some of the smoothness had been made by natural processes, it had also been worked on by man. Somehow that didn't really make him feel any better.

The air brushing against his right cheek was cool and moist. The fact that he could feel a breeze at all, however faint, gave him some hope. It meant that his captors didn't intent to leave him in a deep, dark hole to rot. Well, he hoped so anyway.

The air had several scents in it. It took a few moments to sort them all out. There was the soil he was laying on, dampness from open water nearby and the smell of unwashed bodies. He wasn't alone. Finally daring to open his eyes, Reid blinked rapidly in anticipation of a blinding light. Instead, he found darkness.

"Reid, are you all right?" a familiar voice asked from just a few feet away. As soon as Reid tried to move his head in the direction of the voice the world swirled drunkenly. Swallowing the bile that raced up his throat, the young genius closed his eyes again and concentrated on his breathing.

"Where are we?" Reid asked, his voice a little distorted coming out from between his clenched teeth. The swallowing had helped with the bile but the world still shimmied to the right and to the left at uneven intervals. Just what he didn't need.

"In caves behind a water fall," Dave stated. He was sitting with his back against the stone wall. The five of them had been put into make shift cells. The only thing really keeping them there was the strong, rough hewn door at the entrance of their cave and the fact that they were unable to move everyone without causing further bodily harm. "I was beginning to think we'd lost you."

"Where's Hotch?" Reid asked. He was becoming very tired and could feel that he was dehydrated. Besides the pain and these other distractions, he was also very hungry. It was easier to worry about his boss than to think about how incredibly crappy he felt.

"We're not sure. They put him in the same cell as you. He's off to your right, about two feet away. It's too dark to see how he is and I can't reach through these wooden bars, they're too close together," Dave responded. He was having trouble pulling air in around his battered body. Briefly he considered lying down but realized the hard ground probably wouldn't really help.

Gritting his teeth together, Reid reached out with his right hand. Even that slight movement sent bursts of pain through his skull. He was rewarded, however, when his hand came in contact with a warm body that he assumed was Hotch. Relief flowed through him. Hotch was still alive, otherwise he wouldn't be warm. It was then he realized that Hotch wasn't just warm, he was hot.

"I think he has a fever," Reid said as he laboriously pulled his protesting body toward where Hotch lay, unconscious. The pain was breath taking but he ignored it as best he could. All he really cared about at the moment was getting to his boss and friend. His own discomfort wasn't important.

"Yeah, he was feverish down in the well. The water that came in didn't help matters much. I think he has an infected wound," Dave said as he shifted toward the wood partition between him and the two agents. Hicks and Cullen were in the next cell. So far both men had been relatively quiet. He had the feeling they were gathering their strength for an escape attempt.

"I'm sure he has several at this point," Reid responded. Ignoring his body's protests, he rolled onto his side and began doing a tactile examination of his friend. He was only dimly aware of the tears that had begun to stream down his face. If he'd taken the time to think about it, Reid wouldn't have been able to decide if they were from pain, relief that Hotch was still alive or fear that they might lose him anyway.

"I wish we'd killed the bitch when we'd had the chance," Dave said rather wistfully. He spent a few moments imagining all kinds of ways to kill Mary West. Then he amused himself imagining ways to kill Doug West. Both of them deserved to die slow, painful deaths, the slower and more painful the better.

"I have to agree with you there," Reid said, his voice quiet. His hands were continuing to pass over Hotch's body. There wasn't a whole lot left of the clothes Thomas had put him in. While it helped Reid in his examination, it wasn't doing a lot to protect Hotch from the elements. Under his finger tips, Reid could feel the heat radiating from Hotch's body. The fever was just going to get worse unless he did something about it. "He's in a lot of trouble."

"Hey!!" Dave yelled suddenly, startling the conscious occupants of the cave. Staggering to his feet, Dave moved forward until the wooden bars stopped him. Wrapping his hands around the two most convenient ones, the bounty hunter began shaking them. "Hey! We need help in here!"

"I don't think they're going to help him," Hicks stated from the far corner of his own cell.

"Hey!" Dave continued. He wasn't going to give up that easily.

Ignoring the rampaging bounty hunter, Reid found the long ignored bullet wound. Even before he located it exactly, he felt the heat increasing. His sensitive fingers found raised areas before he found the furrow. The infection was spreading. The wound was set and kind of sticky. Suddenly he really appreciated Dave's yelling. This was far beyond his capabilities to handle.

The large wooden door swung open. Dim light from the hallway dazzled the inmate's darkness adapted eyes. Four burly men lumbered into the cell. "Shut the hell up!" the first one ordered. In the darkness it was hard to see if they knew any of the men that had come in but Dave knew he didn't recognize this man's voice.

"We need help in here. He's really sick. I assume that by dragging him all the way here that you don't want him to die," Dave shot back. More light poured into the room as one of the four brought a gas lantern in. Holding it up, he scanned the cells, stopping at the one with Hotch and Reid. A closer look and he too was concerned.

"We'd better let Tyler know. Last thing we need is for any of them to die," the man holding the lantern stated. Dave recognized him as the man that had been holding Hotch's shoulders during the trip from the well.

"Ah, I'm sure he's fine," the first man announced, looking at Hotch's inert body under the lamp light. Yeah, the guy looked bad but who cares. There were plenty of more where he came from. The forest was a veritable shopping mall of stock. He assumed it had something to do with the compound people. They knew they were there. It required an extra three hour walk to get to the highway but that was okay. They more than made up for the inconvenience by supplying a steady stream of people.

"Shut up, Carl. I'm going to go tell Tyler," the second man said, sending a pissed off look at the other man.

"No need," Tyler said as he entered the cave. Behind him came two other people. Carl recognized them immediately. Not wanting to get into trouble, he and his compatriots made to quickly exit the holding cave. "Stay here. We might need some of your considerable muscle to hold him down."

"What are you going to do?" Reid demanded. Now that he could see Hotch's face he knew the older man was in dire straits. His black hair was pasted to his head from the sweat that covered his body. His face was slick with sweat and pale as a sheet. Fine lines at the corners of his eyes and his mouth were tell-tale signs of how much pain he was in. Aaron's cheeks were flushed with fever and as Reid watched his boss shifted a little, as if trying to relieve a cramp or something.

"Whatever it takes, kid," Tyler stated. Stepping forward, he undid the large lock holding the door shut on the FBI agents' cell. He nodded to the two men that had come with him. Opening the door, they stepped inside. "Get out of the way."

Reid hesitated. He was lying beside Hotch. His body was protesting actively about being on the cold, hard stone floor but he still didn't know if he wanted to let these men touch his boss. The decision was made for him when Tyler stepped forward, grabbed him by the arm and physically hauled him into the corner of the cell. For added measure, he levelled a kick at the kid's midsection. The last thing he felt like dealing with was a whining item.

The kick caught Reid just above his aching hip. The pain that resulted was barely noticed. Instead, Reid concentrated on watching what the men were doing to Hotch. The fact that he couldn't do anything to stop them or to help them absolutely drove him nuts. The dim light of the lantern kept being blocked by the men now surrounding his friend's prone figure.

"What are we looking at here??" Tyler asked the man that had become their medic. He knew Kevin hadn't really had enough time to properly assess the man's condition. He just hated being in the cells. Being in the chamber with the wooden partitions and the five men caused a low buzzing sound in the back of his head. If he bothered to take the time, Tyler might decide that the buzzing was his conscious, telling him what he and the others were doing was wrong. Luckily for Tyler, though, he never thought about it. It would complicate his life too much to.

"Give me a minute," Kevin growled from where he knelt beside the pale, sweat covered man. What was left of the man's clothes was in such tatters that it only took moments to remove them. Pulling the lamp closer, Kevin was shocked by what he found. Wherever this man had been, they hadn't liked him very well. The bruises alone were quite severe looking and turned Kevin's stomach. The cuts, especially the infected bullet wound on his side left the medic stifling his gag reflex.

"It's not good. He's going to take a lot of work to get ready IF he survives," Kevin stated. He knew what the next question was so he set about determining if the man could be saved.

"Is he worth it?"Tyler asked.

Kevin railed silently at the question. Of course he was worth it. He was a human being! No matter what he did in his life or what wrongs he might have committed, the mere fact that he was alive warranted spending every ounce of strength Kevin had keeping him alive. But that wasn't a consideration for Tyler. For the leader of their merry band of men was only concerned about the cost/benefit analysis. Kevin briefly considered the best argument to use. He had every intentions of doing everything within his power to keep the man alive. He just had to convince Tyler of that.

"Yeah. Under all this grime and bruising he's actually fairly handsome. You'll get a good price for him," Kevin stated.

"Great. That's all I wanted to know. You use anything you need to but get him back on his feet ASAP," Tyler ordered. Nodding at the man, he left the room.

Ignoring Reid, who was still huddled in the corner of the cell, Kevin's first chore was to get the man as clean as he could so he could properly assess him. He'd brought some supplies with him but not nearly enough. "Rob, could you get me some blankets, more bandages and some hot broth?"

"Sure thing, Kevin," the man who had helped carry Hotch responded. He'd stayed behind when Tyler, Carl and his cronies had left. Glancing at the other men in the cells, Rob left the chamber.

"What are you going to do with us?" Hicks demanded from the other end of the chamber. Jack was sitting quietly at the back of their cell. He wasn't sure if it was because his subordinate had given up or was simply collecting his strength. He desperately hoped it was the latter option.

"You're smart. You'll figure it out," Kevin responded without looking up. His partner knelt down on the other side of Hotch. The two of them were gently trying to wipe the grime and blood off of him. Not only would it give them a better idea of his real condition, it would also help prevent infection from spreading.

"Your friends have kidnapped two police officers and two FBI agents. Do you have any idea just how much trouble you're in?" Hicks asked. He wasn't sure that he should have told them the identity of the agents but he was hoping to intimidate them into letting them go.

"Do us all a favour and shut the hell up," Kevin grated. He didn't both to look at anyone but Hotch. What he was finding chilled him to the bone. Things were even worse when he found the damage done there. While a good deal of it had actually begun to heal, the wound on his side and his hip were life threatening at this point.

"Who the hell is 'M'?" Craig breathed as he wiped at the brand still angry red against Hotch's pale skin. Under his ministrations, he could feel the man trying to pull away as his breath hitched in his throat. "Maybe we should give him something for pain."

"The last thing he needs is to become addicted to morphine or demoral," Kevin stated. He'd noticed the brand earlier and had chosen to center his efforts on the bullet wound. He swallowed thickly as he worked at cleaning the pus out of it. The infection was spreading. They'd have to do something drastic to deal with it.

"This must hurt like hell. Can't we at least give him some Tylenol or something?" Craig persisted. The sweat he was wiping away was quickly being replaced. The man's skin was pasty white and hot to the touch. "It will help fight the fever too."

"Go ahead," Kevin said. He had his hands full all ready. Images of the wounds he'd found on the man's back kept flashing across his mind. The man had been raped at least once. From the violence of the act and the damage left behind, he hadn't being a willing participant. Well, that would be a matter of choice for whoever bought him.

"What about the rest of you?" Craig asked. In the light from the lantern, Reid saw that Craig had black hair that almost fluoresced in the bad lighting and the lightest, bluest eyes he could currently remember seeing. Within those blue depths he didn't see psychosis or hatred. All he saw was a degree of concern for all of them. Craig looked up from rummaging in a backpack he'd brought in with him and peered at Reid, waiting for an answer.

"I'm fine," Reid responded, trying to hide the pain. He didn't want these men touching him. Images of Doug and what he'd done to him had begun flashing through his mind. He wished that there weren't any partitions. He would feel safer if Dave, Hicks or Cullen were able to reach him and Hotch.

"Yeah, I can see that," Craig stated. "Tyler kicked you pretty hard. Mind if I check you out?"

"Quit talking to them, it only makes things harder," Kevin growled. He looked up from working on Hotch long enough to throw a warning glance at his partner. They were both good at what they did. Craig had a tendency to get a little too close to the patients. It always ended badly, for both of them. "Check him out if you insist but don't ask for permission. They can't say no anymore."

Ignoring his older partner, Craig tossed a couple of Tylenol at him before advancing on Reid. He held his hands out in a placating manner, trying to not freak the thin genius out. "I'm just going to make sure you're okay. You don't want to have open wounds in these surroundings. Infection sets in in a hurry."

"Why are you doing this?" Reid asked, his voice sounding young and vulnerable. He hated it but he was scared and his voice had a mind of its own when he was frightened.

"Would you rather I didn't? I could let you die if you'd prefer," Craig responded. He wasn't about to debate the morality of the prisoners' situation with him. That was far above his pay grade, besides, he preferred to stay alive himself. Gently, he pulled Reid out of the corner and laid him out on the floor. There wasn't a lot of light this far away from the lantern but he used his hands for the most part anyway. "What the hell happened to the two of you before Tyler found you?"

"What's going to happen to us now that he has?" Reid countered. He tried to not squirm under the man's ministrations. He was obviously only concerned with helping Reid but being touched by a stranger had become a new hang up thanks to Mary and Doug. When Craig lifted his shirt to examine where Tyler had kicked him, Reid flinched.

"That's not up to me," Craig hedged. He could tell that the discomfort this young man was going through wasn't entirely a result of the damage done to him. He had the sneaky suspicion that was probably the result of what the other man had gone through. And these were supposed to be federal agents? What the hell?

"Shut up, Craig. Just do what you need to do then help me," Kevin barked from Hotch's side. He had the dark haired man lying on his side with his injured side on top. The furrow was too long to reach it properly when he was on his back or front. Getting a little frustrated with his partner, Kevin jabbed a little harder than he should have while he was trying to finish cleaning out the wound. Hotch groaned loudly and tried to curl up. The guy was a real mess. He was probably going to have to cauterize the tissue around the wound to get it completely clean. That wasn't going to be fun for any of them.

Finished with Reid, Craig moved back over to Kevin and Hotch. He promised himself, though, that he was going to check the other three before he let Kevin drag him out of here. Craig may be a slave himself but Kevin still listened to what he had to say. Tyler, on the other hand, would just beat the hell out of him until he stopped offering his opinions. Since offering opinions was second nature to Craig, he was very grateful that he didn't fall under Tyler's immediate attention. "What can I do?" he asked as he crouched down beside the older agent.

"Hold him down," Kevin responded as he began to dig a little deeper. Another moan issued from Hotch's tightly drawn lips. It turned to a muffled scream as Kevin proceeded with his work. Yep, this was going to get ugly in a hurry.


	5. Chapter 5

_Hello! Thanks so much for sticking with me. I hope you enjoy the new chapter. I'll try to get the next one out a lot faster. Hopefully._

_Susanne_

CHAPTER FIVE

It was more painful than Kevin had anticipated. The muscles under his fingers flinched and spasmed as he continued to work at getting the wound tract clean. Wherever the hell this guy spent his time since being injured hadn't been very sanitary. The puss alone was enough to severely turn the medic's stomach. Across from him, Craig was struggling to hold the unconscious man down.

"What are you doing to him?" Reid demanded as he dared to move closer. He knew he should be protecting Hotch. He knew from the way Hotch was reacting that whatever they were doing was causing pain. Reid also knew, though, that these two men were in a better position to help him than he currently was. He sidled a little closer to Hotch's side, trying to get a better view of what the men were doing. He ignored the pains flashing though his own body and managed to get close enough to grasp hold of Hotch's nearest hand. Unconsciously, he gripped his boss's hand tightly.

"What does it look like?" Kevin growled without taking his attention off of his charge. He hated it when the new recruits were awake and cognisant. He hated having to deal with questions that he didn't want to answer. "Keep out of our way or I'll have you secured in a different cell."

Reid chose to not respond. He wasn't sure what to say that wouldn't jeopardize his current situation. The last thing he wanted was to be separated from Hotch. After all this time of looking for him, Reid was going to fight tooth and nail to make sure it didn't happen again.

The two men continued to work in relative silence. The only sounds in the chamber were coming from Hotch. It broke Reid's heart to hear the pained gasps and moans. He had to stifle the urge to use some of his FBI training on them. Not that he had any delusions of just how effective the training would really be on the larger, more muscular men.

In the adjacent cage, Dave had to content himself with watching. As much as Dave wanted to create a ruckus and try to get the hell out of here, he wasn't willing to risk leaving anyone behind. At least not yet.

Sitting against the stone wall along the back of their cell, Dave tried to find a comfortable position. He realized quickly, though, that given the state of his body against the hard floor, comfortable wasn't going to be easy to get. There was a concerned noise from the sheriff's cell.

"I'm fine," Dave griped with a side-ways glare at the older man. He didn't want the two men to worry about him. If need be, he could run a marathon if it meant getting Hotch and Reid someplace safe and seeing his kid brother again.

"Yeah, I bet," Cullen responded. He sat on the ground nearest Dave's cage. He knew the younger man had been beaten and was worried about him. Both of them were facing the agents' cage. They could see what the two men were doing to Hotch and Reid's face. Involuntary winces kept passing over the two of them. The Wests had a lot to answer for.

Hicks was trying to contain the rage that kept bubbling up through him. He looked at Deputy Cullen, who was sitting in the corner. The younger man was watching the goings on in the other cell but otherwise he sat perfectly still. Hicks knew intuitively that Cullen was processing the whole situation, trying to decide the best way to get out of here.

Hick's head had stopped pounding. He hoped it would stay that way. When they got the chance to get out of here, they needed the three of them to be as mobile as possible. It was the only way they had a hope of getting the two agents out. He hated letting the men paw at Hotch. He knew what had been done to young Reid and knew it had happened to the older man too.

Silently pacing his cell, Hicks casually pulled on each of the wooden pickets that made the cell. He was hoping to find one or more that were even slightly loose. It calmed his mind a whole lot better than sitting still. While he moved, he tried to keep watch over the agents as well as not step on Cullen. Damn but he wanted to get the hell out of here.

OOOOO

Despite causing the senior agent a fair amount of pain, Kevin still wasn't entirely satisfied with the wound by the time he was done. Sitting back on his haunches, he ran his right forearm over his sweaty brow. This was going to call for more drastic measures. Briefly he considered moving the man to make things a little easier but he changed his mind. Looking around at the other men in the cells, he knew the uproar trying to take this one away would cause.

"We're going to have to cauterize this," Kevin stated, looking at Craig. "I'm going to go get the supplies. See what you can do for the others."

Without waiting to see if the dark haired man would do what he said, Kevin stood up and left the room under the watchful eyes of two very large men at the entrance. Glancing over at the guards, Craig moved toward the door of the agents' cage, intent on checking the others while he had the chance.

"Where do you think you're going?" the largest of the two men grated. He made a show of moving forward, toward Craig. He knew the man was a slave and therefore pretty much fair game to everyone else.

"Just doing what Kevin told me to," Craig responded, trying to avoid physical contact with the much larger man. He moved as quickly as he could without seeming to be running, to the nearest cell door. The dark haired young man kept his eyes carefully aimed at the man inside. The members of this group were a lot like alpha dogs. You didn't look them in the eye unless you wanted to get the crap beat out of you.

"Well, you wouldn't want to disobey Kevin, now do you?" the guard stated as he moved another step forward. He got a real kick out of menacing this guy. It was just because they could. For some reason that felt so liberating.

Craig chose to ignore the man. Instead, he unlocked the door with the key the guard reluctantly gave him and then went into Dave's cell. Might as well get this over with.

OOOOO

Reid moved back over to Hotch. In the dim light, he saw the marks of distress on his boss's face. Damn but they needed to get the hell out of here. Glancing over at the men keeping guard, Reid considered his options. He knew there was no chance of him overpowering the men. Where was Morgan when he needed him?

OOOOO

"Isn't this where we left Reid?" Rossi asked as they passed quickly by the spot. While they were nearing the spot, he'd noticed that Thomas became edgier. That did not bode well.

"Yeah," Morgan responded. He hated that he'd had to leave the younger man alone. The fact that the site was empty hopefully meant that Hicks and Cullen had located Reid and taken him to the command post. He too had become aware of the tension building in their guide. He just hoped that whatever it meant didn't involve Reid.

"Reid. Is he a thin kid?" Thomas asked quietly.

"Yeah, why?" Morgan demanded as he stepped toward the prisoner. His large hands tightened into fists.

"Um. I kind of left him tied to that tree," Thomas admitted, pointing to the tree.

"You were the one!" Emily said, turning to face the man. She swallowed the urge to whip out her gun and shoot the man.

"It was either that or taking him back to the compound. I didn't think Michael was feeling very charitable right about then," Thomas said. He noticed that the rope was gone.

"I can't get through to the command center," Morgan grumbled. He'd tried his cell and his com. Neither was working.

"Just because we're crazy doesn't mean we're not smart," Thomas responded. In truth they had nothing to do with the FBI agent's electronic equipment not working but there was no harm putting the idea in their heads.

"Just show us where the damned well is," Morgan grated. He could feel Jared virtually shaking with frustration just behind him. He wanted to find his brother. Now.

"Fine. Come this way," Thomas said. As he walked through the clearing, Thomas noticed the new tracks. Apparently they weren't the first ones to go this way. He just hoped whoever it was was someone who didn't want to kill his companions.

OOOOO

It seemed to take an eternity but finally Thomas stopped at the edge of the well and looked down inside. In the dark confines it was hard to tell if anyone was down there. The fact that no one was yelling, though, seemed to indicate that the well was empty.

"This is it," Thomas announced at his followers caught up.

"Hotch!" Morgan shouted as he knelt down on the loose soil on the well's edge. From his felt he retrieved his pen light and shone it down into the inky blackness. His heart in his throat, Morgan panned the thin light around but didn't find anything but rock, water and dirt. Had Hotch drown? The thought was terrible. After all they'd gone through to rescue their Unit Chief, he couldn't be dead.

"I don't think he's down there," Rossi stated. He'd let the younger man look in the well. He'd spent his time doing a quick search of the area. He'd found the blood stain from where Hicks had been hit and the marks left by the others. He knew that a number of people had headed toward the south west, not all of them alone. Some of the foot prints were much deeper than they should be. Someone was being carried. He had the feeling two of them were.

"What are you talking about?" Morgan demanded as he climbed back onto his feet. He turned to face the older man who'd stopped several yards away.

"What's that?" Jared asked. He'd seen a low flash of light from the other side of the well. Skirting the hole, he found Dave's cell phone just poking out of the clump of grass. Wiping the mud off of it, Jared tried to key it on only to find that the battery was dead. Quickly, he pulled his own cell out of his pocket. The brothers had the same cell phone. The batteries were interchangeable. He hoped. In moments he had the battery stripped out of his own cell and was putting inside his brother's.

"What have you found?" Emily asked as she moved over to look around the taller man's shoulder.

"It's Dave's phone," Jared responded. Relief flowed through him when the stupid thing's screen brightened and it sang a little song as it came back to life. The camera was still active. Opening the application, he found the pictures. The unconscious worry for his brother transformed into almost debilitating fear. "We need to get this to your computer tech."

"What are you talking about?" Emily pressed. She had to catch the taller man's hand and pull the screen a little lower so she could see the images as well. There was Hotch, Reid, Hicks and Cullen. Also in the sequential images were several other man. None of them were familiar. "I think you're right."


	6. Chapter 6

_I KNOW, I KNOW. It's been a while. Sorry, my muse has kind of disappeared. I'll try to do better!_

_Susanne_

CHAPTER SIX

Uploading the pictures turned to be a lot harder than they'd hoped. None of them currently had cell coverage.

"Do your friends have a way to jam radios and cells?" Morgan demanded, rounding off on Thomas.

The blond doctor looked around at the people surrounding him. While he wasn't necessarily scared for his life, he knew that they were all perfectly capable of causing him serious bodily harm. But then, they were FBI agents. That kind of stuff wasn't allowed. Then, of course, there was the other man. Glancing at Jared, Thomas decided he didn't want to tempt fate.

"Ah, I'm not entirely sure to be honest with you. Michael keeps things pretty close to the vest, even with other members. I think it is part of the way he stays in power. That and intimidation. But, it wouldn't surprise me. Michael is more than a little paranoid," Thomas responded.

"Great. Just great," Morgan muttered. He stood at the edge of the clearing, right at the spot the tracks led away from it. The options that came to mind were less than palatable. He could send Emily and the compound member back to the base camp along with Dave's cell to get Garcia working on the images contained within. That would leave Jared, Rossi and himself to follow the tracks. The other option was to simply follow the tracks and hope that the pictures weren't necessary because they all ready found Hotch and Dave.

"What are we standing around here for?" Jared grated. Jared tried to contain his fear and anxiety but he wasn't entirely successful.

"Okay," Morgan said. Coming to a decision, he turned to the others that had moved to stand around him. "We're going to follow these tracks. Hopefully we will get beyond the range of whatever is screwing up our cells but my first concern is finding Hotch and Dave. Let's go."

OOOOO

"How far ahead of us are they?" Jared asked. He knew all ready but he needed to fill the silence within the group with sounds. He was scared. If Dave had been in perfect health there was little chance that he'd have been taken without a huge fight. From the signs in the clearing Jared knew that hadn't happened. It seemed like they'd been walking for days but he knew it was probably two hours.

"At least four hours," Morgan admitted. He had his head down, making sure he didn't lose the tracks. The forest made it easier and harder all at the same time.

"Are you sure you want me in on this little expedition?" Thomas asked as he followed behind the dark skinned agent. The compound doctor had seen the blood as well. He hoped for his sake as well as for the people he was with that when they found their friends they were still alive.

"I could have left you in the well," Morgan hissed. He hated having to haul this guy with them. But, he might turn out to be useful even if it was just as an extra pair of hands. Besides, he didn't want to just let him go or tie him to a tree, like he'd done to Reid. Absently he hoped the young genius was someplace safe.

"What did you do in the compound?" Rossi asked, trying to deflect his friend's anger. He was anxious to find Hotch and Dave too. His radio crackled for the first time in several minutes. Finally, some contact with the outside world. Unclipping it from his belt, the senior agent thumbed the switch. "Base camp, this is SSA Rossi. What's your situation?"

The relief that they'd reached the outside was short lived. The only response Rossi got was louder crackling. Angrily, he shook the damned thing. It didn't seem to help.

"I was the compound doctor," Thomas stated once Rossi finished beating on his radio. The others had checked theirs' with similar results.

"What kind of shape is Hotch in?" Rossi asked. He wasn't sure he really wanted to know but he also wanted to be prepared for the worst.

"Do you want the truth or something that will keep your friend from beating me to a pulp?" Thomas responded.

"The truth," Rossi said. He had to stifle the urge to hit the guy in the stomach.

"Your agent Hotchner was in rough shape when he got here. He has a deep gash on his side. It looks to me to be a bullet graze. He has the letter 'M' cut into his abdomen as well as other injuries," Thomas stated. He was hoping if he told enough truth that the agent wouldn't push far enough to find out all of the man's injuries. Thomas didn't want to be the one to tell him that his friend had been raped, even if it happened before they found him.

"Could he still be alive?" Rossi pressed as they continued to make their way through the dense forest. The senior profiler decided he hated the great outdoors. Give him the inside of an interrogation room any time over trees, shrubs and bugs.

"If Michael hadn't put him in the well he would have been fine. Now I'm not so sure," Thomas admitted. Ahead of them he could feel Morgan's ears taking in every word they said. Even from behind he could see the rage rising in the other man's face. Swallowing fear, Thomas tried to lower his voice just a little bit more. "Since we didn't find a body back in the well I'm assuming he's still alive. So, who put the 'M' in his flesh?"

"None of your business," Rossi grated.

"Aren't you FBI types supposed to be trained to prevent personal injury?" Thomas asked. He couldn't help it, he had to. The idea of rubbing salt in an obvious wound was too tempting.

"He was hit with a car," Rossi shot back. "The manual doesn't exactly cover every situation."

"Yeah, I kind of got that. Does it cover how to recover from being raped?" Thomas regretted the words as soon as he said them. He was instantly aware that all four of his companions had come to a dead stop and turned to face him. Looking at Rossi, because he was the least intimidating at the moment, Thomas waited for the blow or the gun shot, he wasn't sure which.

"Hotch was raped?" Rossi asked. The disbelief on the older man's face seemed very out of place. Thomas got the feeling that it took a lot to shock the man. Suddenly he didn't feel so good about causing this particular jolt.

"Yeah, I'm afraid so," Thomas stated. "The resulting damage was relatively minor. It should be healed by now"

Rossi shook his head, trying to digest the information. It had been bad enough that Reid had been raped. The thought of their Unit Chief being humiliated in the same way was incomprehensible. If Hotch could be overpowered and raped, any of them could be. It was a genuinely chilling thought.

"I don't believe you," Morgan stated. There was no way he could believe that Hotch had been violated. Hotch was Hotch. That just wasn't a possibility. Mentally shaking himself out of his temporary stupor, Morgan turned back to the trail and headed out again. Time was wasting. He needed to find his friend and standing in the forest wasn't getting that done.

Silently, the others fell in behind. Emily cast a few glances at their captive. He had to be lying, right? To the dark haired agent, the world felt like it had taken several steps to the left. None of this seemed to be real anymore. As she brought up the rear of the column, she tried to think of what she would say to the Unit Chief when next she saw him. Nothing came to mind.

OOOOO

Deep within a dark, velvet world, Hotch felt safe for the first time in recent history. Nothing mattered but staying in the inky place where there were no memories, no pain. Somewhere in the far reaches of his mind, Hotch felt a pressure, a need to get back to the real world but it was pushed out by the need to feel safe. Hotch didn't know who he was. He didn't know what he did for a living. None of it mattered.

Settling a little further into the depths, Hotch felt the soft, plush warmth permeate every part of his being. He enjoyed the sensation. For some reason it felt like a very long time since he'd felt whole and warm too. Distractedly, he wondered where he'd been that these were such luxurious sensations.

The warmth spread over his side. At first it felt wonderful. Then it began to get a little too hot. Stifling a moan, Hotch tried to float a little closer to the surface of his mind, just close enough that the warmth would disappait. It didn't. If anything, it was getting worse. The warmth was now an ember. The ember was quickly becoming a flame. Suddenly desperate to get away, Hotch forced his conscious to the front of his mind.

The flame turned abruptly into molten lava. A strangled scream escaped from between Hotch's clenched teeth as he fully came around. The first thing he noticed was that the world was only dimly lit. The second thing he noticed was that he was being held down. The pain was excruciating when he tried to pull away. It felt like it had taken residence in his chest and was pressing the air out of his lungs. The world around him began to fade as the scent of burning flesh filled his nostrils.

"Hold him down!" a male voice barked from a down a long tunnel.

"I'm trying!" a second voice responded. Hotch felt the hands trying to hold him tighten. The lava had spread from a single, quarter sized spot to encompass nearly his entire side. Drawing breath around the pain was a Herculean task. The world dimmed further. Then he heard a familiar voice.

"Leave him alone!!" Reid shouted from somewhere over Hotch's right shoulder.

"We need to do this," the second voice stated. "The infected tissue will kill him if we leave it."

The smell was getting worse, bringing bile into his mouth. Gagging, Hotch tried to roll his head to the side, to keep from choking on the vile substance. The liquid burst out of his lips, running down his chin to pool on the ground. The new aroma only made matters worse. Then the world swirled and darkened to black as the pressure on his side increased to intolerable levels.

Craig felt the older man slacken in his grasp. The smell of the rotten flesh burning and now the man's stomach contents was almost more than he could bear. Turning his head away from the smell, he tried to concentrate on holding the man's still twitching body down while keeping him between his face and the vomit. "Are you nearly done?" he asked.

"Why? Is the smell bothering you?" Kevin asked. He knew it was bad. If he wasn't used to it he would be having difficulties too. The man really was a mess. "Yeah, just give me another minute or two."

Reid moved a little closer. He hated not being able to help Hotch. He hated having to listen to his boss, his friend grunting and moaning in pain. The usually stoic Unit Chief would be mortified to know how much noise he was making.

When Kevin had come back to the cells, he'd ordered Reid away from Hotch. The last thing he needed was for the thin man to cause problems. This was going to be unpleasant enough as it was. During the proceedings, however, the young man had inched forward. He ignored his own injuries. All of his concentration was on his friend, trying to reach him, to somehow impart some of his strength to help Hotch get through the ordeal.

"Please, Hotch," Reid said as he moved up beside Craig. He ran his hand through Hotch's black hair, trying to put it back in place. During the man's ordeal his hair was now standing on edge at different angles. It was very un-Hotch like. Hotch hated having anything out of place, whether on his body or in his office. "Stay with me."

"I know it seems bad but we really are trying to help him," Craig tried to assure the thin, young man. Their heads were virtually touching. Craig was still struggling to keep the man down. Even unconscious he was struggling to pull away from the hot knife Kevin was using to cut away the diseased flesh. The man was going to have one hell of a scar but at least his chances of living increased with each incision.

"I know," Reid stated his eyes on his boss's face as it contorted with spasms of pain. He was only dimly aware of the others in the cells. The only thing that mattered was that Hotch survived. Reid wasn't even willing to consider what he would do if that happened. It was inconceivable to him that there could be a world without Aaron Hotchner in it. Despair threatened. Reaching out his hand, Reid laid it ever so gently on the side of Aaron's face that he could touch. Under his fingers he could feel the jaw muscles clenching and unclenching as pain flashed through the man's neurons. Just when Reid thought the older man couldn't take any more, Kevin sat back on his haunches and wiped a hand across his sweaty brow.

"Well, that ought to do it," Kevin stated. He paused to wash his hands off before placing a clean, white bandage over the wound. He secured it with several pieces of tape. Then he carefully inserted a catheter into Hotch's right arm and attached a back of IV fluids to it. Lastly, he injected a liquid directly into the catheter. "The antibiotics will help fight the infection that's left. Craig, keep an eye on him for a while. I don't want him to die after all this."

"Sure thing, Kevin," Craig responded as he carefully extracted his body from his position of holding the unconscious man. He moved Hotch's face away from the pool of vomit before throwing two blankets over him. What he wouldn't do to get these people a bath. Despite the stench of burnt flesh and vomit, the most overpowering scent was of unwashed bodies. Man but these people stank.

Kevin made sure to take all of the sharp implements with him before he left the cell. He had other people to tend to.


	7. Chapter 7

_This is short but at least it's fast! Things will heat up next chapter, I promise._

_Susanne_

CHAPTER SEVEN

"Hotch?" Reid breathed as he tried to settle in by his boss's head. Unfortunately his tired and battered body wouldn't cooperate. The medic watched as the thin young man struggled to get as close to the older man as he could. The concern on his long face was genuine. It had been a long time since Craig had seen real concern for another human being.

"Can he be moved?" Dave asked from the next cell. He desperately wanted to reach through the wooden bars and pull the two men over to his side of the barrier. It was almost as bad as if it were Jared that were injured and out of reach.

"Where do you want to move him to?" Craig asked with mild curiosity. He had moved closer to the door. There wasn't anything that he could currently do for the unconscious man.

"Over to this corner of the cell," Dave replied. It was as close to him as he was going to be able to get the two of them. He couldn't protect them but at least he could reach through the bars. There wasn't much solace in that.

"We should probably leave him where he is. Moving him may rip open the wound. I don't think any of us want to go through that again," Craig replied. He glanced through the bars at the two guards standing just outside the entrance. They weren't paying any attention to the men inside the cells. Clearly they weren't too optimistic about the men's chances of escape.

"I'd feel better if he were over here, away from the door," Dave stated. He watched as Reid laid a hand on Hotch's forehead, looking for fever. From the expression on the profiler's young face, he'd found what he'd been hoping not to.

Craig couldn't think of a logical reason to leave the man where he was. The man in the next cell was right. The older agent needed to be away from the door. Besides, the other agent could probably use a wall to lean against as well. Heaving a sigh, Craig turned his attention to the unconscious man.

"We're going to move him over there," Craig said as he helped Reid gain an upright position. Kevin was going to kick his ass for this but what the hell. "Can you handle his feet?"

"What about not moving him?" Reid asked as he managed to keep on his feet. The cold dampness of the cave was wreaking havoc with his leg and hip. All his other bumps, bruises and other injuries paled by comparison. He looked down in the dim light at Hotch's sweat slick face. The overwhelming wish to have Morgan here flashed through his system.

"Do you want to leave him here?" Craig responded, looking over at the barely upright man. A full list of items he was going to have to try to procure was building in his mind. If only Tyler would agree with the items' importance. "Grab his legs. Just be gentle, though."

OOOOO

Finally, with a minimum of damage to the senior agent, they moved him over to the corner of the cell, closest to Dave. One blanket was sacrificed to put underneath Hotch because Craig made Reid sit down first. He then gently placed Hotch into the boy's lap, much as he'd been in the well with Dave. It was teh best position in case he should vomit again, as well as relieving pressure on his wounded side. Once the two agents were settled, Craig threw the second blanket over top of them.

Reid felt better now that he had Aaron in his arms. He knew the Unit Chief would be appalled if he were aware of the intimacy. While Aaron loved his team like a family, especially Reid, he still kept an emotional distance from them. It was a job requirement to not let anyone get too close, emotionally and physically. That was part of the reason Haley had left him.

Shifting his back against the rock wall a little bit, Reid tried to relieve a little of the ache from his hip while moving Hotch into a more comfortable position as well. It felt really strange holding the much better muscled man. The side of Hotch's head was resting heavily on Reid's shoulder. The younger profiler could feel the heat from his boss's skin through his clothes.

"Do you have anything for his fever?" Reid asked as he looked past the side of Hotch's face at Craig. The medic was hunched over the bag Kevin had left, taking an inventory of the contents. The older medic hadn't really left much behind.

"The antibiotics should help," Craig hedged as he continued his search. There were lots of antibiotics in the bag, for which he was grateful, but not much in the form of pain killers. The slavers had found that pain tended to make the slaves more manageable. Therefore, easing it wasn't a priority for them, despite the noise of moans and the discoloration of bruises or cuts.

"So would Tylenol," Dave grated from his cell. Reid was situated such that Dave could stick his hand far enough through the bars to rest a two fingers on the young man's nearest shoulder.

"Yeah, well, we're going to have to depend on the antibiotics until Kevin gets back," Craig responded. "That's all I have in the bag."

OOOOO

"Who else is out here?" Rossi asked, glancing over at Thomas. There was just something about this that wasn't sitting right. If someone had found Hotch and Dave, they should have been moving toward the road, not further into the forest.

"What do you mean?" Thomas hedged. They'd been following the tracks for three hours. Thomas had the feeling he knew who took the two men but he wasn't ready to voice an opinion. The people in his compound weren't the only ones who disliked authority. The only difference was their motivations, theological versus greed.

"Obviously you're people aren't the only group out here. Otherwise we'd be headed toward civilization, not away from it," Rossi said. He could feel the anxiety rolling off Jared in waves. He was scared for his brother. From all indications, his concern was justified. "What are the possibilities?"

"We keep pretty much to ourselves," Thomas hedged further. It was the truth. The compound had pretty much insulated itself from the rest of the world. That was the point.

"Still, you must know who your neighbours are. You said that Michael was paranoid. He'd want to know who was around," Rossi continued to push. He knew the man was keeping something from him. What he wasn't sure of was whether the reluctance was because of personal fear or complicity.

"Okay, yeah, you're right. We know that there are a couple of other groups out here. Only the patrols and Michael know where they are," Thomas finally admitted. He glanced over at the others. They were listening without trying to be obvious about it. Only the tall, dark haired younger man wasn't shy about throwing an angry glance at him. Emily was standing a few feet away, curiosity burning in her dark eyes.

"You still know who they are even if you don't know where," Rossi continued.

"Well, I know there are two paramilitary groups up in the deep forest. I don't know where exactly, just that they have well fortified settlements back among the trees. The government has been trying to find them with helicopters and such but they blend in too well. The other group you're not going to like much," Thomas said. What the hell, they were federal agents. It wasn't like they could kill him and leave his body out here in the trees, right?

"What is the other group?" Morgan demanded. He'd stopped and turned to face the man. It took everything he had to keep from beating the information out of him.

"Ah, I'm not sure," Thomas said as he glanced around at the men surrounding him. He saw his death in Jared's grey/blue eyes. Quickly, he looked back at Rossi. At least he seemed to be moderately reasonable.

"Just tell us before I hit you with my gun," Morgan warned as he took a step forward. Thankfully the rain was long gone. They didn't need to worry about it wiping out the tracks. The need to press on, to find Hotch and Dave was almost stifling in its intensity. Unconsciously, his hands kept balling into fists and then relaxing.

"I've heard they're into slavery. They find people in the woods or along the roads and drag them to their compound. After that they're never heard from again," Thomas stated. "I don't know where they are but I've heard they're along the river somewhere."

"What river?" Emily asked. Rossi was still struggling to recover from the mental shock that resulted from the man's words. He knew slavers were a reality. He'd had too many cases that involved them but he'd never considered losing Hotch to the bastards.

"There are two streams that meet up into a river. We get most of our water from it before it hits the highway. It's probably two miles from where we're standing," Thomas informed them.

"We don't know that's where Hotch and Dave are or even where on the length of this river they are," Morgan said. What little hope he'd felt upon hearing Thomas's information evaporated. It was like looking for needles in a haystack. The probability of finding their friends was very low.

"I doubt the military guys would have taken your friends. They would have just shot them. The other compounds are further away than the river. Besides, what choice do you really have? Any cell service yet?" Thomas asked, looking around at his guards. "You'd better make your decision soon. If the slavers have them, they usually have a sale tomorrow. Your friends could be long gone by the time we find them."


	8. Chapter 8

_Hi. I'm really sorry about how long this is taking me. I just started a full time job and find that I don't have nearly as much time to write. Thank you all for staying with me. Things are starting to get interesting!! I hope you're not disappointed._

_Susanne_

CHAPTER EIGHT

"Come this way," the largest guard yet ordered. Behind him stood another four men ready and willing to deal with any trouble the prisoners might come up with. Inside the cell, Hicks and Cullen exchanged a quick look. They were outnumbered and outgunned. The chances of getting away were somewhere between slim and none.

"Get up!!" the guard ordered. Without a word, the four guards crowded into the cell. Cullen and Hicks were unceremoniously pushed toward the front wall. Struggle as they may, the two police officers were unable to prevent the ropes that were tied around their wrists, securing their arms behind their backs. "Don't worry. If you cause us trouble we'll reciprocate."

Once they had Hicks and Cullen in hand, two of the guards held them while the remaining ones turned their attentions to Dave. The bounty hunter had gained his feet as soon as the guards had entered the room but he'd remained at the back of his cell, in the corner as close to Reid and Hotch as he could get. Seeing the guards moving toward his cell, Doug moved toward the middle of it, the better to have room to fight.

"Where are you taking us?" Dave asked as he squared off on the guards. The leader was in front, the other two men flanking him on either side.

"You'll find out soon enough," the leader grated. As he advanced on the bounty hunter, Dave looked completely at ease. If the guard hadn't known better, he wouldn't have known the man was injured. If they were going to take him, Dave was going to make sure they paid a price. Just as the first man reached him, Dave grabbed hold of his nearest arm and threw the man over his shoulder and to the ground.

As Dave came back up from the move, the other two men jumped him, using their combined weight to drag the fighting man to the ground. Still, they had a hard time trying to secure Dave's arms behind his back. The only way they could do it was by hitting Dave in the head when they could get close enough, trying to stun him.

"Don't hurt him too badly," the lead guard ordered as they continued to grapple. "We need to keep him reasonably intact."

Amid the grunts and groans that permeated the air among the combatants, the guards finally managed to get the upper hand and secured Dave's arms behind his back. Even then, the bounty hunter wouldn't give up. It took a particularly savage blow to Dave's head and then his stomach to stun the man sufficiently for them to get him outside the cage.

"Where are you taking them?" Reid called out as the three men were escorted out of the room. Convulsively, the genius pulled his boss's unconscious body a little closer to his own. He was deeply concerned for the others but he had to admit that he was also relieved that he and Hotch were being left alone.

"Your turn will come soon enough," the lead guard said. Glancing up at the man, Reid felt a chill pass through his body at the feral grin the man shot him. Then they were gone. All the way down the corridor, Reid could hear Dave continue to struggle. He was not going quietly into the night.

"Hotch?" Reid breathed into his boss's black hair. Secretly he was hoping that the older man would wake up and have a way to rescue all of them. That's what the younger, more naive part of Spencer hoped. The older, more experienced part of Spencer knew it was going to be up to them. Well, probably up to him. Fear and panic tried to take over but Reid forced them down. The worst thing he could possibly imagine had all ready happened to him at the hands of Mary and Doug. He'd survived that. He sure the hell was going to survive this.

In his arms, the young genius felt Hotchner stir slightly. He could feel the older man's breathing become more shallow and erratic as the pain registered. A quiet moan issued from Hotch's tight lips. A shutter passed through the man's body, momentarily loosening Reid's grip. Then he felt Hotch's head lift up and pan around.

"Be careful," Reid said as he loosened his grip to let the older man get comfortable, if that was possible. "They cauterized your side. Don't twist it."

Hotch had no intentions of twisting. It was taking every ounce of will he possessed to keep breathing. The pain was excruciating, even blinking his eyes to clear the fog out of them hurt. Damn. When he finally managed to clear his vision, he realized he had no idea where he was. Glancing to his side, though, he was deeply embarrassed to find that he was sitting against Reid. Automatically, he tried to move away from the man's lean frame only to be brought up short immediately.

Gasping at the new pain, Hotch blinked tears out of his eyes. He felt Reid shift under him. It was a disconcerting sensation.

"How are you feeling?" Reid asked. He couldn't see his boss's face. All he could see was the top of the man's head. For some reason he found comfort in that. He would have found it so much harder to have the man's piercing brown eyes directed at him.

"Where are we?" Hotch asked to counter the question. He didn't want to admit to how awful he truly felt.

"Behind a water fall," Reid replied. He felt Hotch shift enough to look at the other cells. He knew it must hurt beyond imagining but Hotch didn't make a sound.

"Where are the others?" Hotch asked, his voice losing strength.

"They were just taken out. I'm not sure but I think we've fallen in with white slavers. They're atypical in that they aren't at all concerned by the fact that we're federal agents or that the others are law enforcement," Reid said. It was an automatic reaction. Whenever he was nervous, he talked, a lot.

"Great." It was the only thing Hotch could think to say. Talk about going from the frying pan to the fire. When was their luck going to turn?

OOOOO

Following the river was easier in theory than it was in reality. The river bank was virtually non-existent. Trees, prickly shrubs or other noxious weeds crowded the edges. Most of the time, the agents and Thomas were forced to wade through the cold, rapidly moving water. More than once Morgan and the others barely managed to keep from taking a swim. The water was cold enough that flowed into their boots, shoes and soaked up to mid-thigh on their pants that within minutes their teeth were chattering.

"This wasn't a particularly well thought out plan," Rossi muttered as he nearly slipped for the fifth time. The river seemed to go on forever. Every foot threatened to suck Rossi into a deep, dark depression. The thought that they might never find Hotch kept surfacing in his mind. Angrily and franticly, he quashed the errant contemplation. That was not an option. He knew none of them were going anywhere until their Unit Chief was found, one way or another.

OOOOO

The three men were dragged bodily down the corridor past several openings that Dave could only assume led to other rooms. The guards were propelling them so quickly that he didn't get a chance to look beyond the dark opening. Despite his hands being tied behind his back, the bounty hunter's shadow seemed to enjoy watching him stumble and barely manage to keep his feet under him. The man would send a sudden, completely unexpected thrust against the middle of Dave's back, sending him forward at an astonishing rate.

"Get your hands off me!" Dave growled loudly after the latest shove.

"That ain't going to happen," the guard growled in response. As if to prove his point, the man caught hold of Dave's shoulders and pulled him against him. Instantly repulsed, Dave tried to pull away, to get his hands out of the man's crotch as his back was ground into the man's front.

"That ain't going to happen either," Dave grated as he grabbed hold of the man's genitals through his pants and squeezed for all he was worth. A scream from behind him told the bounty hunter the manoeuvre was successful. Letting go, Dave tried to get his body around to continue the assault but before he could, the guard recovered enough to ball his two fists together and power drive Dave into the ground.

As Dave's body smashed against the dirt floor, the breath was knocked out of him, making his ability to recover limited. Gasping to bring breath back into his body, Dave was dimly aware of the guard grabbing him by the hands and pulling him back up to his feet. Then he was being pushed forward again.

By the time Dave returned fully to his senses, he found that they were in a large grotto. The top of the cavern was open to the sky, which gave him a momentary hope, but then he realized it was nearly 15 feet to the top and the walls leading up to it were smooth. There was no way out that way.

Scanning the area of the grotto, Dave felt bile rise in his throat. In the darkness created by the sunlight shining in the skylight was a crowd of people. Standing a foot in front of the crowd were the people who'd taken them from the well, rifles grasped in both hands as they faced the three men being escorted in. The faces Dave could make out in the gloom were unfriendly or twisted in lust. The bile tried to erupt from his throat. Swallowing rapidly, he managed to keep from embarrassing himself in front of these people.

Hicks, Cullen and Dave were pushed unceremoniously into the open space in the sunlight. Unable to maintain their footing, the three men wound up in a pile on the ground. All Dave could see was Cullen's back while he tried to extract his uncooperative limbs. Then two pairs of strong hands caught hold of him and pulled him to his feet. The hands forced him to face the crowd as he was paraded around the circle of light so all could get a good look at him. Swearing a string of obscenities, Dave tried to glare at each and every one of them, to let them know what kind of hell he'd cause them.

"The bidding will start on this one," a voice said from somewhere in the darkness. Dave felt his knees go weak. Where the hell was Jared?


	9. Chapter 9

_Hi. As always, I'm so sorry that this is taking me so long to update!! I have good intentions but my time isn't my own lately. I'm also sorry that this is so short. I figured it was better to update with a short chapter than not at all. I hope you agree._

_Susanne_

_WARNING: This chapter contains an occasional swear word. Be warned!!_

CHAPTER NINE

Dave felt his stomach plummet at the words. 'Bidding???' What the hell? Suddenly everything was a little too real. Angrily, the bounty hunter tried to pull away from the two guards that were parading him around the sphere created by the sunlight. Ignoring all of his injuries, the bounty hunter fought with every ounce of strength he could muster. It was a wasted effort as the guards picked him up bodily and continued to show him off. Then one of them let go long enough to face Dave, grab hold of his shirt and rip the fabric away from his body, exposing his chest. From beyond the circle of light, Dave heard appreciative rumbling. Bile rose again.

"We'll start at $1000.00. Do we have a bid?" the voice stated from the darkness. While the voice droned on, the price rising within seconds, the guard proceeded to remove Dave's pants. Again, struggle as he might, there was no way for him to prevent it. Before he knew it, he was standing in the center of light naked as the day he was born with his hands still bound behind his back, unable to cover himself. The murmurs of appreciation were loud and rancous. What really freaked Dave out was that most of the voices were male. Oh God.

Unconsciously, Dave began shouting out obscenities. Apparently the guards didn't appreciate his tone of voice much because a gag was produced from somewhere and unceremoniously thrust into his mouth. These people were prepared. The gag wasn't just a wad of cloth. It was made of rubber and had a portion that forced its way between his teeth. Try as he may, Dave couldn't make a sound. Tears of frustration, anger and humiliation began to roll down the bounty hunter's cheeks as he was dragged around the circle.

"$5,000.00 going once......going twice...... sold to number 23," the voice announced. There was a loud crack, like two rocks striking each other. The guards pulled Dave out of the light toward where Hicks and Cullen were still being held. Blinking rapidly to try to readjust his eyes, Dave only vaguely saw that Hicks had blood flowing down his chin and Cullen was barely upright. Then he was being dragged out of the grotto to another place.

"Get him cleaned up. The buyer will want to examine him more thoroughly before he takes the meat off our hands," yet another voice grated from somewhere nearby. The room was dark. After being dazzled by the light in the grotto, Dave still couldn't see anything. He could tell that he was still underground by the smell of earth, moisture and mold. It was similar to the cage he'd been held in earlier.

The guards thrust Dave's naked body forward, sending him sprawling in the dirt with no way to break his fall. The ground knocked the wind out of him but immediately, Dave rolled off of his stomach. Getting onto his butt, Dave turned to face the guards only to find that they weren't there anymore. He was alone. Giving in to the despair that had been eating away at his mind and soul, Dave pulled his legs up to his chest, scooted into a corner and rested his heat on his knees. Where the hell was Jared?

OOOOO

The FBI agents, Thomas and Jared were still slogging through the cold, numbing waters of the stream. Jared was now leading the way. There was no way in hell that he was going to give up, ever. Dave was out here somewhere and he was going to find him, no matter what.

"Are you getting a signal?" Derek asked while he sloshed through the water. He had his cell phone out and was waving it around, hoping against hope that he could get a signal and get hold of Garcia. They needed help here. Despite the warmth of the day, the agents were all ready beginning to suffer from hypothermia. The water was just too damned cold and the forest was too dense. They were completely out of options here.

"No," Emily and Rossi replied almost simultaneously. The older agent's teeth had long since stopped chattering. As he stumbled along, he couldn't feel his legs. Rossi was amazed he'd stayed on his feet this long.

"What's that sound?" Thomas asked from the middle of the group. Stopping, he turned in a circle, trying to locate the source.

"What sound is that?" Morgan asked. To hear better, he too stopped and scanned the area. Only after the others followed suit was he able to hear a dull thumping sound. Hope sprang up in his heart. That was the sound of a helicopter. Sure enough, a few seconds later, the thudding became unmistakeable and then the machine broke over the tops of the trees. The first thing Morgan noticed was the lettering on the bottom of the fuselage. Relief flowed through him, it said FBI.

Waving their arms like people that had been stranded on an island for days, the agents heard their radios finally crackle to life. "Would you like a lift?" an unfamiliar male voice asked.

"Penelope Garcia sent us," the pilot continued as he moved the helicopter as low as he could without catching the rotor blades in the tree tops. Once they were as low as they could get, two rope ladders were unfurled and thrown over the side. Sloshing through the stream, the agents and Jared pushed Thomas ahead of them.

Once on board the helicopter, the co-pilot offered all of them blankets and hot coffee while the ladders were being pulled back in. "Where would you like us to go?" he asked looking at Rossi.

"Up river," Rossi responded, a mug of coffee gripped between his hands. Finally they were making some head way.

OOOOO

Dave had no idea how long he sat there, tears still running silently down his face. It felt like forever. The sound of footsteps brought him out of it, though. Rubbing his face on his knees to hide his tears, Dave looked in the general direction of the door. He'd heard it being slammed shut and locked earlier so he hadn't bothered to try to get out. Besides, he wasn't willing to leave Hotch, Reid, Hicks and Cullen behind.

There was a flaring sound followed immediately by a blinding light that filtered around the edges of the door. The door swung open but Dave turned his head in time to keep from being completely blinded. Blinking, he turned back toward the guards who'd dragged him in here. One was carrying two pails and a long handled scrub brush. Without saying a word, two of the guards stepped forward and pulled Dave up to his feet. As soon as Dave was on his feet, the man put the two buckets down, plunged the brush into the soapy water contained inside and began scrubbing at Dave's naked body.

The brush had hard bristles that dug painfully into Dave's skin. He struggled to get away but there was nowhere to go. Finally, he stood still and allowed it to happen. There wasn't anything else he could do. It seemed to take forever but eventually the scrubbing finished and the man stepped back.

"He's as clean as he's going to get," the man announced. The soapy water sent shivers through Dave's body. The room had only felt damp before, despite his state of undress. Now it felt downright cold. The guards stepped away. The largest one took the time to push Dave against the wall behind him before he followed his partner out of the room. The door didn't shut, however, as a group of six men walked in to replace the guards.

"Well, well, he's prettier than I realized," the older of the men stated. In fact, the man was downright beautiful. Perfect. The men back at camp would appreciate the man's good looks. He'd made a promise to them that he would find a way for them to submit to their more base instincts. Women were too much trouble. They bled once a month, were emotional and too damned delicate. Men, on the other hand, could take a beating and keep on ticking. Besides, for a desperate man there wasn't a whole lot of difference between a woman's hole and a man's. This one would do nicely. So would the other two he'd just bought too. He'd asked to see this one up close and personal before he moved onto the two that were too badly hurt to be put on auction. Damage wasn't of much concern for him. Quantity was of upmost importance otherwise they'd wear out too quickly.

Stepping up to the meat, he signalled to two of his men to grab him. This wasn't going to be pleasant for the meat but he intended on enjoying it thoroughly. Reaching out, he caught hold of the gag and pulled it roughly out of the meat's mouth. He didn't want anything to get in the way of this. While he wasn't gay, the leader figured if it was good enough for Roman officers to have other men as outlets for sexual tension, it was good enough for him and his men. The meat's blue-green eyes glared at him but he didn't pull away even as the leader ran a finger down the side of his face.

"What the fuck do you want?" Dave grated. He wanted to beat the shit out of this guy and all his people but with his hands still secured behind his back there wasn't a whole lot of chance of that. The way some of the men's eyes were cruising over his body gave him a severe case of the creeps. This wasn't going to end well.

"I want to try out the merchandise now that I've bought it," the leader stated. Nodding at the men who were on either side of Dave, the man was forced down onto his knees. Instantly Dave knew why the man had removed his gag. He was at the same level as the man's crotch. Oh God.

"Now, if you try to bite me or otherwise hurt me, your friends will suffer the consequences. I bought them too," the leader said. Staring down into the meat's furious eyes, the leader grasped the zipper on the front of his pants and pulled it downward. A shutter of anticipation passed through his body. This was going to be fun.


	10. Chapter 10

_Thank you, thank you, thank you for sticking with me. We're getting close to the end, I think. I hope to update again soon but the real world keeps getting in the way. Imagine!!!_

_I hope you enjoy the new chapter._

_Susanne_

_WARNING: This chapter contains scenes involving sexual abuse. Be warned!_

CHAPTER TEN

Reid was startled awake. He had no idea when he'd fallen asleep but the sound of footsteps coming closer sent his head back against the cave wall. Instinctively, he pulled Hotch a little closer. Whoever this was it wasn't help. Help would be a lot quieter.

Blinking his eyes, trying to get them to focus better than they were, Doctor Spencer Reid watched as four large, well armed men arranged themselves along the front of their cage. To his left, Craig stood up. The medic had been dozing in the corner. He too felt the need to protect his back.

Even in the dim light of the cells Reid could see an all too familiar burning in at least two of the men's eyes. Swallowing despite his suddenly desert dry throat, Reid tried to burrow backward into the wall behind him. In his arms, he felt Aaron shift. In his still feverish stupor, Unit Chief Hotchner was vaguely aware that there was a threat. He fought against the limits of his body and mind to come around, to be of use against the threat. Through sheer force of will, Hotchner brought his eyes open to half mast. It was all he could accomplish. The dim light of the cave allowed Aaron to see the four men as one of them unlocked the door and stepped through the bars.

"We are Federal agents. You need to let us go," Aaron managed to say as he struggled for a split second to move. The movement was stopped very quickly as his side screamed in agony. Breathing through the pain, Hotch managed to not pass out. As he watched helplessly, the four men entered the cell and advanced on them.

"The boss wouldn't like that, seeing as how he just bought you," the leader of the four stated somewhat dispassionately.

The words sent shock waves through both agents' minds and bodies. What the hell have they gotten themselves into this time? Grinding his teeth together to keep from screaming against the pain, Hotch struggled weakly to gain his feet. He felt Reid's arms tighten around him, to prevent the movements. He had to admit it was a good idea.

Before Aaron could reach an even marginal upright position, two of the men reached down and hauled him bodily to his feet. The world spun drunkenly, the pain turned his vision black and bile burned in his stomach. Breathing quickly, Hotch tried to recover himself well enough to defend himself. Before he had the chance, the world crashed down on him. He went slack in the men's arms.

"Leave him alone!" Reid shouted as he erupted from the floor, all of his own injuries forgotten as he tried to pry the four steps of hands off of Aaron. The other two men caught hold of Reid and pulled him off as if he were as light as a feather. They held him on either side, their too large hands wrapped around the thin young doctor's biceps and his lower arms, effectively cementing him in place.

"Shut up!" the leader shouted. "All your noise is giving me a headache. Come on."

OOOOO

The world tilted crazily. Dave stared at the man's crotch, hovering just in front of his face. He had to be kidding, right? Beyond the metal of the zipper, the bounty hunter could see the blue fabric of the man's boxer shorts. As he stared with terrified fascination, Dave saw that the man was becoming aroused.

"Hold his arms, I'll control the head," the leader growled as he stared down at the man in his control. Grinning evilly, he pushed his pants down onto his thighs and did the same with his underwear. Not quite up to its full potential but no longer flaccid either, his member hung in the air.

Hissing through his teeth, Dave struggled harder. There was no way in hell he was going to let this happen. The hands holding him in place just got stronger. He was all ready losing sensation in his hands from the pressure. The leader caught hold of his short dark, blond hair with one hand and got hold of himself with the other.

"Open wide," the leader stated, still grinning but with a tightness in the edges of his mouth. Lust burned brightly in his otherwise dead eyes. "Do it now, for your friends' sakes."

For a full minute Dave weighed his options. Images of what his brother had suffered at the hands of Mary played through his mind while he tried to decide. If it were just Hicks and Cullen, he'd be tempted to leave them to deal with the problem. But there were also Reid and Hotch. Two men he considered to be his friends, who had all ready gone through a hell beyond even his own imagining. Goddamn it.

"Fine, just get it over with," Dave grated. Feeling very much like a baby bird waiting to be fed by its parents, Dave held his mouth open and tried desperately not to gag as the man moved closer. Involuntarily, Dave moved away until his back was against the wall. It was only an inch or two but it was all the leverage the man needed.

"That's better," the leader said, his voice practically purring. Getting a better grip on the young man's head, Al thrust himself forward and relished the moist warmth as the tip broke the threshold. Yep, this would do fine.

Closing his eyes, Dave tried desperately to pretend that he wasn't there. That the man's hard, stinking member hadn't forced its way between his lips and teeth onto his tongue. The gagging reflex was even stronger as the taste of the man came from his tongue and his nose. As Al thrust further, Dave felt like he was being suffocated by the hard and soft tissue.

With unbelievable relief, Dave felt Al pull himself out of his mouth. He didn't even have time to draw a full breath before it was back, pushing harder, trying to go deeper. It was more than he could take. Dave's body responded instinctively, bile spewed up through his throat and his nose.

"Damn it," Al barked as he felt the too hot liquid press against the tip of his penis. Angrily, he pulled away and watched with disgust as Dave puked bile all over himself and the ground right in front of his knees. "I guess we'll have to teach you better manners."

Stepping further back, Al nodded at his two men while he rearranged his clothes. Without warning, while Dave continued to heave what was left of his stomach contents onto the floor, the men let go, took one step back and began beating the man with their fists and feet.

"We'll do a breaking in session and then we'll try again." Amid the sounds of blows landing and moans and groans from the man who'd now collapsed to the floor. They were careful to direct Dave away from the mess on the floor. That was the last thing they felt like dealing with. "Give it another 5 minutes or so. Then we'll see if his attitude has changed."

OOOOO

The helicopter skimmed over the tree tops. Looking back in the direction they'd come from, Rossi was happy to find that three more helicopters had joined them and were stretched out on either side of them. They were all flying with the doors open. The FBI agent could see that they were filled to capacity with heavily armed troops

"We're nearing the waterfalls," the pilot said into his radio from the front of the vehicle.

"What's beyond that?" Rossi called backed. He knew they needed to go upstream but even from this vantage point he couldn't really tell what lay ahead.

"More trees," the pilot responded cryptically. He was happy to see that the agents were getting their colour back. The coffee had helped and the blankets had finished the job. He was glad. The sound of their chattering teeth on the radios had become distracting.

"That's not particularly helpful," Rossi responded. Morgan was virtually hanging out one side of the helicopter, binoculars plastered to his eyes. On the other side was Emily, doing the exact same thing. Jared was preoccupied making sure Thomas didn't try to jump out of the machine. He appreciated the distraction. It helped him to keep from jumping out of the machine himself. As fast as they were moving, it wasn't fast enough for him.

"Sorry, it's the best I can do," the pilot said.

The river seemed to take a sudden wrong turn. Abruptly, what was a fast moving river because a thundering torrent as the water crashed down to the bottom of the falls. Gliding through the mist created by the crashing water, the lead helicopter rose quickly and rose above. The scenery was almost breathtaking with its beauty. Under other circumstances, Emily and Morgan would have enjoyed spending some time exploring the area. Now, however, they were too busy scanning for signs.

"I think I see something!" Emily called from her side of the copter. The trees abruptly moved away from the edge of the river nearly a mile upstream from the waterfall. Nearly a hundred feet from the right side of the river a large, open area appeared. It was split down the middle as if someone had taken a giant dagger and stabbed the earth. For a split second as they rose high and near enough for her to see the area, Emily swore she saw an armed figure duck inside the dark tree line.

Before Morgan could move over to scan what Emily had found, the door frame two inches from his right hand exploded. The sound came a moment later. They were being shot at.

"I think you're right," Morgan replied as he and the others tried to get out of the line of fire. The bullets ricocheted around the cabin, shattering windows and ripping through electrical wiring but the pilot kept the bird on an even keel. "Get us down there!"

"We may land faster than you're looking for," the pilot replied as he continued to fight with the controls. The more damage he was taking, the harder it was the keep the bird in the air. He could hear in his earphones the other pilots talking to each other, coming up with a plan of attack. He just hoped they didn't waste too much time. The helicopter made an abrupt right and arched off in that direction. The engines whined and the deck pitched. "Grab onto something. We're going down."


	11. Chapter 11

_Thank you, as always, for sticking with me. I'm getting close to the end! No, this isn't going to be a REALLY long story like most of mine have been. It's warming up and I'm feeling the need to be outside more than I am feeling the need to write. Well, for now anyway._

_Thank you very much to everyone reading this story and especially to the ones who take the time to review! I love hearing from you!_

_Enjoy!_

_Susanne_

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Within seconds of the pilot's warning, the helicopter took another abrupt turn, sending everyone inside tumbling despite their best efforts. Putting everything he had into, the pilot managed to keep relative control long enough to prevent the machine from falling like a rock. He tried to put it down as gently as he could but there was only so much he could do.

The helicopter pitched to the side, the rotors spinning wildly as they slipped into the grotto roof. The metal broke through the thin layer at the edge of the opening. As the helicopter made ground fall, a much larger section of the roof of the grotto gave way. Just as Morgan thought the ride was over, the bent and battered fuselage began the rest of its descent. Holding on for dear life to a piece of metal, Morgan tried to brace himself for impact. He wasn't entirely successful.

OOOOO

Reid tried as hard as he could to stay with Hotch. The Unit Chief was barely conscious, suspended between two of the guards while they were both dragged unceremoniously out of the cells and into the hall beyond. The ones holding Hotch moved faster than Reid's captors. Reid was only vaguely aware of the world around him. All of his concentration was centered on Hotch's dirty, ragged shirt just a few feet away. Behind him, the genius was also vaguely aware that Craig was keeping pace.

"Where are you taking us?" Spencer grated. He was hungry, thirty, tired and everything seemed to hurt but he needed to hear something other than the men's grunts as they moved down the narrow space.

"Shut up," the man on Spencer's left growled. To emphasize the point, the man on Reid's other side reached behind his back, grabbed hold of his right buttocks through his pants and squeezed, hard.

Reid's first reaction was humiliation. The young genius wasn't used to having anyone touch him. Of all the members of the BAU, only Derek Morgan got away with the odd head rub, arm punch, etc. The rest of the time Reid seemed to have an invisible shield around him that no one could penetrate. That was the way he liked it, most of the time. The humiliation was quickly replaced with discomfort as the man continued to apply pressure and the pain registered. Despite his best efforts, a low groan escaped Reid's tightly drawn lips.

"Let go of him," Craig grated from behind.

"These two are screwed up enough all ready, Hugh, leave him alone until we get him loaded at least," the guard on Reid's other side hissed.

"Loaded?" Reid squeaked unconsciously as he felt the man let go of his butt. Just before he pulled his hand completely away, the man slapped him. The only good thing was that Reid's buttocks had all ready gone a little numb from lack of blood flow. "What are you loading us into?"

"Oh, you're going to have so much fun once we get you where you're going. Are you really federal agents?" the guard asked. The hunger in the man's gray eyes set a spike of fear through Reid's body. The hunger was all too familiar at this point. If Reid allowed himself and Hotch to be taken they were both going to be raped, again.

There was no way in hell Spencer was going to let that happen. Ahead of him he could see that Hotch was still slumped unconscious in the guards' arms. It was up to him. Taking a deep breath, Reid gathered what strength he could. His long abused body didn't have much of a reserve left. Just as he tightened his muscles to do something, anything, the guard on his left gripped him tighter, cutting off the circulation in his left arm.

"You really don't want to do that," the man hissed. "It'll only make things harder for you."

"I won't let you do this," Reid responded as he tried to pull away. Suddenly he wished he'd paid more attention when Derek had tried to teach him self defence. That was Derek's job, not his.

"You and your friend will only have two choices. Let us do it or die. It's up to you," the guard responded as they continued down the hallway. Just ahead was a 90 degree turn to the right. The guards dragging Hotch were just rounding it when a huge concussion of air sent them sprawling backward into Reid and his agents. The last thing the young genius was aware of other than being entwined with other bodies was that it felt like his brain was on fire.

OOOOO

The helicopter smashed through the comparatively thin layer of soil and rock that made up the roof of the grotto. The rotors chopped the rock like it was butter. Inside the confines of the tortured metal container, Rossi, Emily, Jared and Thomas held on to anything that seemed bolted down. It didn't make a lot of difference as the world went sideways and then upside down.

Before any of the unstrapped passengers had a chance to react, the world slid onto the side again. Rossi wound up on top of Thomas, while Emily and Jared were on top of him. At that point it felt like a giant shook them like a salt shaker as the helicopter dropped the rest of the way to the grotto floor.

The air was full of the smell of jet fuel, burning rubber, spilled grease, sweat and blood as the world finally stopped moving. The smoke from the still chugging motor quickly filled the grotto, making breathing and seeing more than difficult.

Coughing almost uncontrollably, Rossi carefully extracted himself from the pile of bodies at the back end of the compartment. A quick inventory told him he had a few bruises, some deeper than others, and a cut over his right eye that was bleeding like a son of a bitch but otherwise he seemed to be okay. The darkness of the helicopter compartment, coupled with the black smoke that continued to billow from the engine made checking the others a hands on experience.

Emily was out cold but Rossi couldn't find any broken bones on her. She was the easiest to figure out in the dark. Thomas or Jared, whichever one wound up on top of him, had a broken leg. The feeling of the bones grating under his hands made the fillings in his teeth hurt. The other body was unconscious but had no obvious injuries that he could feel.

"Is everyone all right?" Rossi called out. Off to his right, the older profiler could hear someone moving around. Fear tried to take over for logical thought but Rossi shelved the response.

"I'm here," Morgan grunted from that direction. A metallic thud sounded, then Morgan was beside Rossi. The older man felt Derek's warm hand on his shoulder as he began checking the others.

"What about the pilot and co-pilot?" Rossi wondered out loud.

A low groan was the first response Rossi got. That was followed by a thud of flesh meeting metal. The groan got a little louder. A sharp clattered followed. Rossi felt the smooth surface of a helmet rub against his hand.

"Well, they say any landing you can walk away from was a good one. Somehow I don't think this one qualifies," the pilot grunted as he unceremoniously joined the others at the rear end of the helicopter.

"Well, we're alive. That's a start," Morgan said. He felt another body join theirs as the co-pilot also slid down toward them.

"Let's get the hell out of here," Rossi stated. "We may have unfriendly company coming all too soon."

"Sure thing," the pilot stated as he reached for the side door and flung it open. If Rossi was expecting the open door to improve his ability to see, he was sadly disappointed. The helicopter had landed on its right side with its tail section lower than the cockpit. It made getting out, especially with three unconscious people, impossible.

"We aren't going to be able to move them, are we?" Rossi asked. He could feel Emily stirring slightly beside him but the other two were out cold.

Suddenly a light blazed, blinding all of them for a few moments. Ignoring the pain, blinking rapidly to adjust his eyes, Rossi squinted at the flashlight in the pilot's hand. The dark, billowing smoke drifted around randomly but with the flashlight at least they could see. It was then he realized the person with the broken leg was Thomas. Well, that was poetic justice.

"Not him, that's for sure," Morgan stated as he took in the awkward angle of the man's leg. Jared sat bold upright, startling everyone that was around. Gasping in huge breaths, he scanned the faces hovering over him.

"Where's Dave?" was the first thing that came out of the younger man's mouth. That was immediately followed by a small groan as he pulled his lanky frame up to and upright position. He glanced once more at the other people in the helicopter and then proceeded to pull himself out.

"Whoa there," Morgan said as he caught hold of the younger man's ankle as it began to disappear into the darkness. Jared shook off the offending hand and continued through. Hissing under his breath, Morgan followed suit. They paused long enough to pull the rest of the conscious members out.

Emily woke up just as Rossi was debating what to do with her and Thomas. He didn't want to leave them alone but weapons fire had begun echoing through the grotto. He had no idea where it was coming from, the configuration of the grotto made directionality impossible to determine. It meant, however that there were armed individuals not that far away and they were fighting with someone. He hoped desperately those 'someones' were FBI.

"What's going on?" Emily asked as she ran a slightly trembling hand across her damp forehead. It was taking a minute or two to remember what was happening.

"We're going to go look for Reid and Hotch. I need you to stay here and protect Thomas until the cavalry arrives," Rossi said. He hated the idea of leaving her but the woman was armed and perfectly capable under the worst possible scenarios f protecting herself and Thomas.

"Who's the cavalry?" Emily prompted. Man her head hurt but she could tell by the urgency in Rossi's voice and eyes that this was important.

"Anyone wearing an FBI jacket?" Rossi suggested. The flashlight beam was rapidly disappearing. Torn between the two choices, Rossi nodded at Emily and slid down the side of the helicopter. He had to rush to catch up. Derek wasn't wasting time while still checking every corner, every nook and cranny. The dark skinned agent wasn't taking any chances that he might miss his fellow agents but he also didn't want to take the chance that they might get shot either.

Derek somehow wasn't terribly surprised to find an arch at the end of the grotto. A careful glance down it and he led the others down it. The walls had been cut out using shovels or perhaps some rudimentary mining equipment. Under other circumstances Morgan might have been impressed with the scale of the tunnel system they were finding. Now it was just pissing him off.

The corridor they were padding down made an abrupt turn. The flashlight shone off a huge boulder that had been scraped and otherwise injured. Apparently the miners couldn't move it or drill through it and so had gone around it. Cautiously, with his gun and flashlight leading the way, Morgan slipped his head around the corner. What he found made his blood run cold in his veins.


	12. Chapter 12

_HI! Thank you as always for you reviews! They mean so much to me! Thank you also for sticking with me on this. Writing is taking so much more time than I'd ever anticipated. If I'd known, I wouldn't have had four stories going at one time like that._

_I hope you enjoy the new chapter. I keep saying we're getting close to the end here then something else comes up. You'd think the story had a mind of its own or something!_

_Susanne_

CHAPTER TWELVE

This far away from the grotto the smoke and acrid air had all ready begun to clear up. It allowed Morgan to see pretty well as he aimed his flashlight at the scene before him. The first impression Derek got was that the people on the other side were knocked over like a set of dominoes. All of them were on the ground, apparently having been blown over by the force of the helicopter crash. The second impression Derek got was that he knew two of the people lying on the ground. Before he had a chance to react, however, one of the larger men gained his feet, pulling a thin, ragged looking man up in front of him.

The dark, greasy, dishevelled hair, marred face and too thin body spoke to Morgan of unimaginable abuse. The hostage was initially unconscious but in pulling him up, the captor appeared to jar some unseen injury because the hostage drew a sharp, hissing breath as his eyes flew open in response.

"What do you see?" Rossi asked from behind Morgan. The younger agent hadn't moved. In fact it seemed as if he'd been turned to stone. Not a reaction he'd ever expected to see in Morgan. It sent alarm bells ringing through the older man's mind.

"Come any closer and I'll kill him," the captor grated, a long, impressive knife snaking up to rest against the hostage's throat. The captor was taking a chance, making an assumption that the hostage would mean anything at all to the man on the other side of the flashlight. He just hoped desperately that he was right as he held the black haired man up against his body. It was the only way to maintain him in an upright position. Any slack at all and he began to slide to the ground.

Blinking against the pain, trying to clear the red haze out of his vision, the hostage turned his gaze on the dark figure peering around the corner. Derek could see that the man was in rough shape. The damage made his features unfamiliar. The eyes, however, as soon as they came to rest on Morgan sent a shock of recognition through his entire body. The profiler's heart skipped a beat.

"Oh God," Morgan breathed explosively. It was Hotch. His friend, boss and mentor was alive. That was the good news. The bad news was that he had been through hell and back. And he wasn't out of hell yet. As Morgan watched, the man holding Hotch ran a hand possessively up and down Hotch's stomach.

"You heard me," the man holding Hotch said. To emphasize the point he pressed the blade a little harder against the tender skin. He felt an almost sexual release as the sharp edge cut through, just a little. "We are leaving here and we're taking these two with us."

It was then, under the beam of his flashlight that Morgan saw Reid being pulled off the floor by another of the over-muscled men. Images of what Reid had all ready been subjected to flashing through Morgan's mind. 'No, not again, please, not again' started playing like a chant in the back of Morgan's consciousness.

"I'll kill you before I'll let that happen," Morgan responded. He felt rather than heard Rossi and Jared come around his right side. He still held his gun at the ready. He was prepared to shoot the man at the slightest provocation. But it was extremely hard to pull his attention away from the dark brown eyes that were staring at him from under the too long black hair. Despite everything their intensity was the same, sending a chill down Morgan's spine.

"I think you're a little outnumbered here, chum," the man said, a grin splitting his face. He continued to stare at the obvious threat, his fingers twitching on the handle of the knife as he pressed just a little harder.

Jared and Rossi moved cautiously around Morgan. They could hear muffled voices but couldn't really see what was going on. The big, dark skinned agent was completely immobile.

"Oh my God," Jared breathed as he took in Hotch's ragged and abused appearance. The young bounty hunter jerked physically when he saw Reid, now being held upright by two burley guards. The fact that Reid was here at all was surprising enough. He'd still been labouring under the delusion that his 'younger brother' was safe and sound. The shape the younger man was now in filled the bounty hunter's tall frame with fury. One last look at Hotch and Jared lost control.

Growling like a ferocious animal deep in the back of his throat, Jared launched himself at the man threatening Hotch. Despite being wary, the action took the man completely by surprise. He'd been watching the glowering agent in front of him, not the shadows behind Derek. Jared rammed into the man as hard as he could while avoiding the now barely conscious Hotch, who was still being held out front.

"You son of a bitch!" Jared shouted as he pounded and punched the man for all he was worth. The bounty hunter was only vaguely aware of Hotch as the dark haired Unit Chief crumpled bonelessly to the ground. He was careful not to step on him, though, as he continued to rain pain down on the man now backed up against the hallway wall.

Snapped out of his catatonia, Morgan rushed the men holding Reid. He heard rather than felt Rossi coming up beside him to take on the guard on the left. Both men, blinking in the bright lift of Morgan's flashlight, were completely unprepared. A sharp upper cut and the man on the right's jaw sent him reeling. Rossi had his gun in his hand so he used it as a hammer and struck his target in the right side of his head. The senior profiler was sickened by the crunch of bone he felt on impact but was gratified to see the man let go of a weakly struggling Reid. Then Rossi was scrambling to catch Reid as the lanky young man began to sink as well.

Still relieving much pent up frustration, Morgan and Jared continued to beat on their opponents. Morgan stopped once the man he was pounding on stopped resisting in any shape or form. Satisfied that he'd gotten his point across, Derek moved over to Jared and pulled him off the man he'd turned into a bloody pulp. "Take it easy, it's over," Derek said as he held the taller man in place long enough for him to regain control.

Taking huge, shaky breaths, Jared finally managed to compose himself enough to respond. Even then, though, his fists kept clenching and unclenching, his split, bloody knuckles mingling blood with what was all ready there. "It's not over. We haven't found Dave."

"Reid," Rossi prompted. He had moved the young genius away from the guards that Derek was now securing and had settled him on the ground beside a now unconscious Hotch. In the light from the flashlight, Rossi could see that Hotch was white as a sheet and his ragged face was pain filled. Before he had to choose between his friends, Jared knelt down beside Hotch and began a quick exam.

"Hi," was all Reid could come up with. Disbelieving, he stared at the older man's bearded, concerned face before looking at Morgan and then Jared. "Are you really here?"

"Yeah, kid," Morgan responded. He'd finished with the captives and could now turn his attenihHi

tion to the people that he cared about. His first stop was Hotch. He helped Jared move his friend and mentor off his damaged side and onto his back. All ready Hotch was breathing easier and some color was returning to his lean face. Then he moved over to Reid and Rossi.

"Where is Dave?" Derek prompted as he caught hold of Reid's nearest hand. It was the only part of his friend's body that he felt okay touching at the moment. Everywhere he looked there was some sign of abuse. The last thing he wanted was to be responsible for more pain.

"I'm not sure," Reid responded as he swallowed thickly. The fact that he and Hotch might actually be safe was leaking through his body and mind, taking every ounce of strength he'd mustered with it. "We were all in cells back down the hall but they came and took Dave, Sheriff Hicks and Deputy Callen away."

"They were being put up for auction," Craig stated as he stepped out from the crevice he'd hidden in. Given the agents' fury, he hadn't wanted to take the chance of becoming a target too. Seeing the angry indignation beginning to colour all three men's faces, the medic rushed on. "I can show you where they would be held after the auction."

"He's just trying to help," Reid added. He hated to be so close to Rossi and Morgan. He knew he didn't smell all that good after being in captivity but neither man appeared to notice. Now that Reid was with Morgan, Rossi moved over to Hotch. He was impressed by the gentleness in Jared's attentions to his friend but after all that had happened to Hotch, the older profiler hated the thought of anyone but family touching him. "He's a medic and a slave."

"How far away is this place?" Morgan asked as he effortlessly picked Reid up like a child. Under other circumstances Reid would have shrieked in protest. Today, however, the feeling of safety Derek's strong arms wrapped around his back and under his knees gave him was heaven. A small part of Reid's subconscious mind knew that Morgan should be helping Hotch but he couldn't bring himself to voice the thought once it surfaced.

"It's on the next level down. Nearly everyone tries to escape once they're sold," Craig stated. There was personal experience shading the dark haired man's voice. "We're going to have to find a safe place to put these two before we go look for them. He shouldn't be moved any more than absolutely necessary."

"How bad off is Hotch?" Rossi asked. When Jared uncovered the cauterized side, Rossi sucked in a startled breath. Suddenly he wished he'd spent a little more time pounding on the man he'd disabled.

"He's better now that the infection seems to be under control," Craig said as he covered the ugly wound. It looked so much worse under the harsh light of the flashlight. "In the real world reconstructive surgery will cover most of the scars. But the less he gets jostled the better."

"I know just the place," Morgan replied. He knew Emily wouldn't let anything more happen to Reid and Hotch. Just to make sure, though, he planned to leave Rossi behind as back up. "Let's go."

OOOOO

The guards, their 'buyers', had dragged a semi conscious Dave back into the holding area just before the world shook. They dumped the young bounty hunter on the ground like a bag of garbage and then stood back to look at their handiwork. There was barely an inch on Dave's body that didn't hurt. Some areas were in agony, others just liked to complain. The other 'merchandise' was all ready lying or seated on the ground when what felt like a 5.0 earthquake shook the caverns.

Jostled by the helicopter's crashing through the grotto, the guards barely managed to keep their feet.

"What the hell was that?" the leader demanded. He glanced over at Dave and the other two. He didn't have time for this. They needed to collect the other two and get the hell out. The last thing they needed was a damned earthquake. Did this part of the country get earthquakes? He wasn't sure but now was not the time to worry about it.

"I don't know," one of the others supplied helpfully. He was standing between Hicks and Callen, trying to make sure they didn't cause any trouble. The guard was careful not to look at Dave. The kid was a mess. If he hadn't been wanted for nearly beating a man to death, he'd have left this merry band of freaks a long time ago. A shudder of revulsion passed through his body. The guard looked down at the two officers. Both ignored him.

"You're a damned genius Tobey," the leader growled. As he surveyed the cave they were in, a small avalanche of soil and gravel cascaded down the wall by the entrance. The thought of being trapped in here sent a spike of fear through him. "Get them moving. We're getting the hell out of here."

"What about the others?" Tobey asked. One of the men sent to get the other slaves was his cousin. Not that they were close, but family was family. If it wasn't for Steve he never would have joined this group to begin with. So long as Steve stayed with them he felt a certain obligation to remain as well.

"They'll catch up," the leader barked. He waited impatiently as his men pulled the two officers to their feet. Neither made any move to argue but they also didn't do much to help either. Then they turned their attention to Dave. The bounty hunter was sprawled on the ground, trying to recuperate from his beating. His head hurt, his ribs hurt but at least he'd been spared the indignity of the man putting his member back in his mouth. The only thing that competed for Dave's attention more than his injuries was his concern for Hotch and Reid. He'd really hoped that they would be here as well. Somehow, though, he wasn't all that surprised to find that they weren't. Their luck just hadn't been running that well of late.

"Rise and shine," one guard said as he pulled Dave to his feet. As Dave began to sink back to the ground, the man slipped his left arm around his back and pulled Dave's right arm across his shoulders. In the dim light of the cell, the guard slipped his left hand down Dave's back until it slid under his belt and his underwear. The bounty hunter stiffened as he felt the cold flesh against his own. Before he had a chance to react further, though, the man was pulling him forward, reawakening all of his injuries. Darkness threatened and then descended.

"Are you sure?" Tobey asked as he followed behind Hicks and Callen. The two men were all ready secured with their hands behind their backs. The only one who wasn't was Dave. Even from a distance Tobey could tell that he wasn't going anywhere. It made him nervous that Al was the one carrying him because he knew of the other man's inclinations.

"Quit your bitching and let's move before the roof caves in," the leader barked. Forestalling further discussion, he set out. The others would just have to keep up as best they could. There was no way in hell he was going to be stuck down here. As quickly as he could, he slipped into the hallway and made a right. Suddenly the entrance to this hell hole seemed so very far away.


	13. Chapter 13

_We're getting there. I'm sorry this took so long. I've been sick with a cold the last week. Not a lot of fun. Anyway, enjoy!_

_Susanne_

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Morgan moved Reid toward the wreckage of the helicopter. Behind him he could hear Jared and Rossi carefully supporting Hotch between them. Even unconscious the Unit Chief's breathing was ragged and shallow. For that reason Morgan was grateful that Hotch stayed unconscious during the whole procedure.

As carefully as he could, Morgan lifted Reid up over the wreckage to the confines of the cockpit. He was relieved to find Emily on her feet, her gun aimed at his head. Upon seeing Reid, however, the gun began to tremble in one had while the other went to her mouth. "Oh my God," Emily breathed.

"He's okay," Morgan assured her as he gently laid Reid on the ground beside Thomas. Self consciously, Reid tried to pull his clothes in order, only to fail miserably. He glanced up at the prime looking woman and was instantly ashamed.

"I thought you were safe," Emily said as she moved forward, her instinct was to coddle the younger agent but she knew he wouldn't appreciate it. The raven haired woman's attention was immediately drawn toward the scuffling sound of the other two carefully bringing Hotch over the side as well. A string of curses passed through Emily's lips as she watched them laid him beside Reid.

"We need to go find Dave, Sheriff Hicks and Deputy Cullen. Apparently they're all down here as well," Morgan told her. He could see that Emily was trying very hard to get control of her emotions. It was something she did very well, compartmentalizing. "Stay here and keep these three safe. There should be a rescue party showing up soon."

"Dave, stay here. Craig, Jared and I will be back as soon as we can," Morgan said, turning toward the slightly winded older man. Jared and Craig's heads were hovering over the side of the helicopter looking down on them, eager to get going. All ready there were signs of structural instability within the caverns. They were running out of time and couldn't wait for the other FBI agents.

"Do the radios work down here?" Emily asked. She was hovering over Hotch but hated the idea of losing contact with the others once they left. She'd all ready tried two or three times to get hold of the other copters with no luck at all. It was unnerving.

"No," Morgan responded. "Get them evacuated out and then wait for us as long as you can. We'll be back." Nodding at the two men, Morgan turned and pulled his well built frame out of the wreckage. By the time he landed softly on the ground, Craig was leading the way through a corridor he hadn't seen before.

"Oh my God, Reid, what the hell happened?" Emily asked as she crouched down between him and the still unconscious Hotch. Rossi had climbed back out of the wreckage and was prowling around the perimeter, making sure no one came up on them unawares. If they did with the intentions of hurting anyone inside the wreckage, they were going to have to go through Rossi's dead body.

"Ahh," Reid hedged as he looked everywhere but at Emily's face. Too much had happened, too many things that he was insanely ashamed of. As relieved as he was that he was now 'safe', he really hated the idea of going back among the world of the regular people. If there was something Reid no longer was, it was 'regular'. He knew he was being irrational but he felt dirty and subhuman in ways he'd never imagined possible.

"It's okay," Emily said as she reached out and tenderly grasped Reid's too angular face between her hands, forcing him to look at her. "None of this was your fault, Spencer. You hold no blame in any of this."

"I'm an FBI agent. I'm trained so that I am supposed to be able to take care of myself. What kind of agent lets himself be kidnapped not once but more times than I care to count at the moment?" Reid shot back as he writhed in Emily's too clean hands, trying to pull away from her grasp and from her intense brown eyes. Giving in, he finally shut his own eyes. Unheeded, tears of shame rolled out from under the closed lids. Desperately he almost wished he hadn't been rescued.

"You've survived every time it's happened, Spencer. That proves that you have a strength of will stronger than anyone else I know. Besides, we value you for your mind, not your muscles," Emily responded, trying to lighten the man's mood. Now was not the time to try to deal with the emotional trauma of this whole series of events.

Before Reid had a chance to answer, Hotch let out a low moan as he weakly shifted, trying to ease some of the pain that was flowing unabated through his body. Instantly aware that there was someone beside him, Hotch pried his eyes open half way, it was all he was capable of doing. Blinking several times, he finally managed to bring Emily's concerned face into focus.

"Hotch, are you okay?" Emily asked as she leaned over him so she could have a better look at his face. Jared and Rossi had left him lying on his undamaged side. It left his back toward Reid. The sensation of Emily lying across his body so she could see his face was disconcerting. Hotch hated to have anyone but Reid that close to him now. A shudder passed through his frame in response.

"Reid?" Hotch croaked out. His voice was virtually gone. The pain was passing like spasms through his body. He knew he was long since passed the point of shock. If the young profiler wasn't safe he wasn't sure he wanted to live. Letting Reid die would be something he couldn't live with.

"He's right behind you. Morgan and Jared have gone to find Dave and the others. Agents should have landed by now and are on their way here. Just a few more minutes and we'll have you and Reid out of here," Emily said, hoping she wasn't underestimating the time involved in their rescue. It had all ready felt like an eternity.

"How is he?" Hotch asked. He fought against the shame that tried to overwhelm his mind and senses. That was for the psychiatrist to deal with. He wasn't about to start now.

From the helicopter's stores that had survived the crash, Emily had found two bottles of water. She had been giving some of the first one to Thomas is small amounts. Now, she brought the half full bottle to Hotch's lips and allowed him a few swallows. It seemed to bring him a modicum of strength.

"I'm okay," Reid responded. Emily was too busy trying to keep Hotch from drowning. Reid made no attempt to move around so Hotch could see him. His misery was beginning to drag him into a deep, dark place he wasn't sure he'd ever surface from. "You just worry about yourself. I'm okay."

Lifting his top arm, Hotch reached behind, careful not to move his cauterized side. He had to make physical contact to convince himself that Reid was really there. At this point he wasn't ready to take anything for granted. Closing his eyes, stifling a sob, Reid caught hold of Hotch's hand and held it against his chest. The contact was enough to pull him away from the edge of the precipice. Breathing, deep, calming breaths, Reid pushed the shame away from him. It wasn't his. It belonged to the West's and the men who'd dragged him here.

"We're going to get out of here," Hotch said, his voice louder thanks to the water. "Then we're going to go on vacation."

"Where to?" Reid asked. He'd never known Hotch to take more than a few days off work even while he was married to Haley. The thought was almost too bizarre to contemplate.

"Some place warm," Hotch improvised. "Some place above ground."

"Sounds wonderful," Reid responded. Slowly, both men's eyes began to close as exhaustion, dehydration and malnutrition began to take their toll. Until it was time to move, there wasn't anything else for them to do.

"Do you want me to check them over?" Thomas asked as he looked at the two agents. Hotch looked so much worse than he had the last time he'd seen him. He was humiliated by the fact that he'd been involved in any way with what had happened to him. The least he could do was try to make sure they were all right until help arrived. Without waiting for a response from Emily, Thomas dragged his body a little closer to Reid and took his vital signs before beginning as thorough an examination as he could without any instruments.

"You do that," Emily said. Sitting back to get out of the medic's way, she carefully watched everything he did. If she was concerned at all, she was going to shoot the man in the head. No one was touching the two agents with the intent on hurting them under her watch. Her gun back in her hand, she prepared to wait.

OOOOO

The trip to the entrance took much longer than they'd planned. The way that they were used to taking was blocked at one point, forcing them to make a detour. The two officers allowed themselves to be pushed forward. Until there was a chance to escape with Dave, they weren't about to take the chance of allowing themselves to be injured in retribution. With the condition the young bounty hunter was in, they were going to have to carry him the hell out of here so they needed to be as healthy as they could.

Tobey was careful not to watch what was happening in front of him. He could see even in the dim light that the man dragging Dave along had his hand down the man's pants. He couldn't really see what he was doing exactly. For that he was grateful. Huffing out a breath, Tobey kept putting one foot in front of the other. They were going to get out of here or they weren't. At this point he wasn't sure he cared a whole lot.

Rounding a corner in the corridor, the leader finally saw the light of day. "Thank God," he breathed as he lumbered toward the glorious light. He'd all ready spent far too much time in these awful caves. So intent was he on the light that he neglected to see the men bending in with the trees on the other side. As he stepped out, strong, rough hands grabbed hold of him and pulled him through. More hands caught hold of the others as they too came through, the light blinding them to what was going on with the people in front of them.

In a matter of moments, the men were on the ground, zip cuffs binding their hands behind their backs. Unfortunately, not knowing Hicks, Cullen and Dave, the three of them were treated as suspicious despite their own bindings.

"What the hell is going on here?" the FBI agent in charge demanded as he examined their catch. They'd repelled down from their helicopter, trying to reach the downed bird and its crew. Unfortunately, the ground where the bird went through was unstable, preventing them from entering that way. Even the vibration of the helicopter's rotors if they tried to repel down into the grotto was enough to send what roof remained down onto the wreckage. Rather than take the chance, they'd tried to find another way in. This had been the only entrance they'd found. It was by sheer luck that they'd reached the entrance just as these guys had.

"None of your damned business," the leader growled as he struggled against his cuffs. He was furious that he'd allowed himself to be so easily caught. He'd always thought that he'd go down in a hail of bullets, not a whimper.

"I'm Sheriff Hicks, this is Deputy Cullen and that man there," Hicks said, pointing as best he could at Dave, who was still unconscious, sprawled in the dirt. "Is a bounty hunter that we were working with."

"You got any ID?" the FBI agent in charge asked. He was taking in the rough clothes the three men in question were wearing. The difference in their garb compared to the other men alone made him suspicious.

"No. It was taken from us along with our uniforms," Hicks answered. He grunted as he was pulled to his feet, along with Cullen. Protectively, he moved toward Dave, who was lying beside the guard that had been fondling him. It took almost everything he had to keep from kicking the guard in the groin.

"We bought them," Tobey blurted as he too was dragged to his feet. The other members of his group were being pushed toward a staging area the FBI was in the process of setting up over top of a nearby ridge. They wanted to make sure they could keep an eye out in case more people came out of the entrance.

"Shut the fuck up!" the leader barked as he tried to turn toward the younger man and send him a threatening glare.

"Yeah, they did," Hicks agreed. "They also beat Dave within an inch of his life so we have them on white slavery charges as well as battery."

"We'll keep that in mind," the head FBI agent stated. Four agents had moved forward and carefully picked Dave up off the ground and carried him toward the staging area and medical attention. "Follow us."

OOOOO

"They're not here," Craig stated. He turned around in the cell, as if to confirm what his eyes had all ready told him. They'd made the trip as quickly as possible but still they'd missed Dave and the others. The tunnels and corridors were virtually deserted as the buyers scrambled to not be caught up in the army of soldiers descending on the place. The helicopter crashing through the roof had been their first clue. The other helicopters hovering in the air only confirmed their fears. The end result was that there was no resistance as Craig led them along.

"Damn it," Jared swore. The urge to pound the smaller man into oblivion tried to take over the young bounty hunter. If he'd thought it would have helped, he would have happily done it. Instead, he punched the nearest wall and tried to not flinch as the pain registered. Not one of his smartest moves.

"Where's the nearest exit?" Morgan asked. He wasn't about to give up hope. Not until he saw their dead bodies.

"This way," Craig said, visibly brightening. There was still a chance he could do something to make up for what he'd been helpless to prevent. Eagerly, he left the cell and led them back through the entrance but they turned in the opposite direction they'd come in.

OOOOO

Rossi jumped as ropes dropped down between where he was keeping guard and the helicopter wreckage. Bringing his gun up to bear, he waited to see who or what was going to come down. In the meantime, he skirted the ropes and put himself between the others and the ropes. They were going to have to go through him first.

With the whisper of metal along nylon rope, three men dressed in black dropped from the ceiling. It only took a second for Rossi to stop the lettering on the back of the nearest man's jacket. FBI. Still, he kept up his guard until the three agents landed, released themselves from the ropes and spread out. All ready Rossi could hear more agents dropping down the ropes.

"SSA David Rossi," Rossi said as he continued to stand his ground. The only real courtesy he showed the other agents was to lower his weapon and pull out his credentials.

"SSA Stephens," the first agent said as he stepped towards the older man. Stephens was heavily armed, as were the other eight agents that were taking positions around the grotto. "Where do you need us?"

"We have injured inside the helicopter wreckage. As well, there are three men, including Agent Morgan, searching for three other men we know to be missing here. Unfortunately, the walls of the caves, or more likely metals in the walls, make our radios useless," Rossi stated as he stepped toward the helicopter. The sooner they got Hotch and Reid out of here, the better he'd feel. With the luck the two men were having of late, the ceiling was likely to fall on top of them.

Stephens ordered four of the men to work on extracting the injured. Then he turned back to Rossi. "Do you have any idea where they went?"

"No. One of the prisoners offered to lead them to the cells. I have no idea where they are. From what I've heard and seen, this place is immense," Rossi responded.

"Okay. We'll get the injured out and leave some agents here in case they make their way back," Stephens said. Thomas was the first one that was lifted out of the helicopter and up the ropes. Then Reid and Hotch were similarly extracted. They tried their best but with the limited room available, the agents tending Hotch accidently twisted him. A stifled scream through clenched teeth brought the Unit Chief around in an instant.

"Sorry, sir," the agent carrying Hotch's shoulders muttered as the man blinked repeatedly to try to figure out what was going on. "We'll have you out of here in just a couple of minutes. We'll try our best to not bump you any more than necessary but this still isn't going to be pretty."

"Where's Reid?" Hotch said, his voice quieter than he'd hoped. The pain was trying to overwhelm him again but he wasn't about to let that happen, not until he knew his subordinate was being tended too as well. Distantly he hoped Reid was being taken care of with a little more care than he'd just felt.

"They're just lifting him out of the caves now. You'll see him once we get you on top. Now, just take it easy. We'll be done ASAP," the agent said as they carefully angled Hotch onto the backboard before lifting him the rest of the way down the side of the helicopter. Pain blossomed through Hotch's body yet again. Knowing that the rest of the process was going to be bad, Hotch did the only thing he could think to, he passed out.

As soon as her charges were out of the helicopter and up through the grotto roof, Emily joined Rossi and virtually vibrated with the need to get up top and keep an eye on them. She was feeling paranoid that something else was going to happen to them and she was determined now to let it. Not so long as she drew breath anyway.

"We're going to lift you out as well. The walls are unstable and we don't want to take a chance of things getting worse. We've set up a base camp on a ridge half a mile away. That's where we're taking the wounded. One of the agents on top will lead you there once you're both up top," Stephens stated.

"What about the others? Are we sure these caverns have been cleared?" Rossi asked. He hated the idea of leaving Morgan and the others. But he also desperately wanted to be above with Hotch and Reid. He was going to have a hard time letting either man out of his sight again.

"We have teams getting ready with GPS units and mapping devices so we won't get lost down here. It'll take about twenty minutes for them to get ready and then we'll start clearing the caves. For now, let's get you both up top so you can watch over your team members," Stephens said. He nodded to the men at the ropes. Stepping forward, they slipped harnesses on both agents. Within moments they were standing in the sunshine for the first time in what felt like years.


	14. Chapter 14

_Hello! Thank you very much for the wonderful reviews! It really helps to know that I'm still on the right track. I would love more reviews of course but I greatly appreciate every single one I get. _

_I think one more chapter after this will do it. I don't want to just have them rescued and not deal with any of the ramifications of the terrible things I've allowed to happen to them. That would just be mean. After all, I said I'd put them back in one piece. Well, kind of._

_Anyway! I hope you enjoy the new chapter. _

_Susanne_

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The world came back slowly for Hotch. Unhappily, he left the comforting, warm darkness of oblivion for pain and fear. For a heartbreaking moment, Hotch didn't know who he was or where he was. Panic flared as his consciousness bobbed to the surface of his mind. Immediately, images of his childhood, his early adulthood, flashed behind his mind's eye. The panic subsided. Hotch remembered, all too well. The final images were of Doug, Mary and Reid. A shudder passed through Hotch, sending stabbing pain through his side and various other points of concern.

Someone was touching him. Fear spiked through Hotch's mind and body. The hands were probing in places he didn't want to be touched. Instinctively, he tried to catch hold of the arm attached to the hand, to push it away, to keep it from continuing its journey. If the hands continued in the direction they were currently moving, they were going to be moving under what was left of his underwear. The thought was too much. Grunting, Hotch managed to catch hold of the hand and bent it as far back as he could. In the process he tried to sit up, to somehow protect himself.

"Take it easy, Aaron, you're safe now," a voice floated to Hotch's ears from what felt like a galaxy away. Then he noticed the subtle scent of Old Spice body wash. It was Rossi. Relief flowed through the Unit Chief as he forced his eyes open to blink blurrily at David Rossi's face as it hovered just above him. Rossi put a hand on Hotch's nearest shoulder and forced his boss and friend back onto the cot. The medic stepped back.

"Reid?" The welfare of the young agent was always foremost in his thoughts. Now that the hands were gone and he could see that the man attached to them was being watched by someone he trusted, Hotch's mind turned to other things. He knew he was in bad shape. He could feel the too tender cauterized wound on his side as well as the other injuries that had been inflicted on him but what kind of shape Reid was in scared him even more.

"He's okay. He's lying in the next cot," Rossi assured Hotch as he carefully perched on the side of Hotch's cot. The men in charge of this little operation were getting ready to air lift the injured out but they wanted to make sure the site was secure first. The last thing any of them wanted to happen was for one of the radicals to shoot one of the helicopters down as they raced to the nearest hospital.

Ignoring the pain, Hotch turned his head in the indicated direction. Tears sprang out of the corners of his eyes when he finally spied the thin young profiler a few feet away. Spencer's brown eyes were staring at him, relief in them and on his face. "Are you all right?" Hotch asked. His voice was weak and scratchy.

"I'll life. How are you?" Reid asked. He was trying desperately to not cry. They were safe. Finally safe. And Hotch was alive. Nothing else really mattered. It was worth everything he'd gone through to know that Aaron was okay. A sigh that came from the very tips of his toes passed through Reid's gaunt frame.

"How are the others?" Hotch hedged. The longer he was awake, the worse he was feeling. A doctor or medic was checking his vital signs, etc but he'd had enough intelligence to not step between the two cots.

The relief on Reid's face was replaced with concern. "We haven't found them yet."

"Actually," the medic chimed in. "More prisoners being brought up. There are injured among them."

"Where are they?" Rossi asked as he stood up from the cot. Maybe, just maybe there would be good news there too.

"Just coming up the hill. The injured that is, the others are being moved to a more secure location," the medic stated. "Once we get you to a hospital we'll be able to do more for you, SSA Hotchner. But for now your vitals are stable. We'll get you and Agent Reid out ASAP."

"What about the others?" Reid asked. He glanced over at a still unconscious Dave. Someone had beaten the bounty hunter almost to death. He looked terrible. Distantly, Reid wondered where Jared was. By now the younger bounty hunter would be nearly rabid in his search for his brother.

"He'll probably be on the same helicopter as you. Don't worry," the medic said. He'd moved over to Reid and was checking his vitals as well.

"I'm going to go check on who they're bringing in. I'll be back in a minute," Rossi said. He hated to leave Hotch and Reid but with Emily and three other FBI agents hovering nearby he knew they'd be safe. Secretly he was hoping it would be the buys they'd left tied in the cave. He had half a mind to finish beating the crap out of them.

"Are you okay?" Reid asked. He ignored the medic. He hated being touched by anyone now but the man was just doing his job. The first sign of something else, though and Reid was going to have Emily shoot him. It hadn't escaped him that Hotch had avoided this question earlier.

"I just want to go home and see Jack," Hotch responded, a lump forming in his throat at the thought of his son. How was he going to face Jack again after being raped? Didn't that make him less of a man that he'd allowed it to happen? Looking at Reid across the short distance, Hotch knew those thoughts were inappropriate. He hadn't allowed it to happen any more than Reid had. They'd both been rendered helpless and taken by force. That had no bearing at all on their manhood. Now if only he could remember that in the sleepless nights to come.

"Soon, Hotch. Soon we'll be home," Reid said. The concept of a place where he was comfortable and safe was almost beyond him at this point. Reid wasn't sure he wanted to go back to his apartment. The place suddenly seemed too big, too unsecure.

"Not soon enough," Hotch responded. Carefully, ignoring the tutting sounds of the medic, Hotch turned his protesting body onto his side so he was facing Reid. He didn't want the kid to be out of his sight any time soon.

OOOOO

The caves seemed to go on forever. Jared was starting to think that Craig was just as lost as they were when sunlight appeared around a corner. Just short of reaching it, Craig stopped and waited for all the others to catch up. After all the time in the caves, he wasn't sure he wanted to step out into the light. The last time he had Kevin had barely managed to keep the others from beating him into oblivion, among other things.

"Where are we?" Morgan asked as he sidled up beside the shorter, smaller man. He could feel the fear rolling off the young medic in waves. Whatever these people had done to him, he was now afraid to push his known boundaries.

"This is the nearest entrance to the cells. This is where they'd come out," Craig said. Unconsciously, he was stepping back from the circle of light just inside the entrance. He was shocked that they hadn't run into anyone. Something big was going on but he didn't have a clue what.

"What are we waiting for?" Jared demanded. He kept his voice low same as the others but he desperately wanted to keep moving. Dave was around here somewhere. He knew intuitively that his brother was in trouble. Otherwise he would have been raising bloody hell and they would have found him by now.

"Ahh," Craig hedged as he looked at the world in the light. All he could see was earth, trees, shrubs and a little bit of grass. It had been so long.

"Come on," Morgan said gently. He caught hold of the younger man's arm and directed him into the light. He was right behind him. Morgan was ready, prepared to be jumped as soon as he stepped beyond the confines of the corridor. Still, he jumped slightly when four FBI agents appeared, their weapons pointed at the three of them.

"Special Agent Derek Morgan," Morgan announced as he cautiously stepped out, his hands up and away from his gun. "We're searching for hostages. Has anyone else come out here?"

"First things first, where's your ID?" the officer in the front demanded. There had been enough people pouring out of this place that he wasn't taking any chances. He knew all ready who Derek Morgan was, he recognized him from the raid on the other compound but he had to stick to procedure.

"I'm going to reach into my back pocket," Derek said as he left one hand up and carefully reached for his credentials with the other. In front of him he could see Craig vibrating with fear or anxiety, he wasn't sure. He just hoped the man held it together long enough for them to get out of here first. He had visions of the kid getting shot just because he was acting so guilty. Slowly, he opened the leather case his ID was in and showed it to the agent.

"Okay, Agent Morgan," the agent said as they resumed their positions. "The command post is in that direction."

"A helicopter crashed to the north west of here. Inside are injured people and agents guarding them. Can you send help to them?" Morgan asked now that his identity had been confirmed.

"That's all ready been done," one of the other agents, the one standing on the top of the entrance stated. "Last I heard they were being sent up to the command post before they're sent out by helicopter. We have to secure the area first."

"How many people have come through here?" Morgan pressed as Jared moved beyond him to hover a short distance out in the sun. A pressure that Morgan hadn't even realized had been pressing down on him was lifted. At least he knew Hotch and Reid were okay. Oh, and Thomas too. But there were still other people they needed to locate before all of this was over.

"With the three of you, that makes twenty so far," the agent said.

"We're looking for Sheriff Hicks, Deputy Cullen and a bounty hunter names Dave. Does that ring any bells?" Morgan asked. He had a hand on Craig's nearest arm. The kid looked like he was ready to jump back into the darkness of the caves. These freaks had really done a number on him.

"Sure. They're up at the command post," the agent said.

"Thanks," Morgan responded. Without further ado, the three of them headed out in the direction of the command post. The only thing that kept Jared from a full out run was the steep incline of the terrain. It took just about everything Morgan had to keep up with the bounty hunter and keep Craig with them. The medic was practically digging his heels in the dirt. The panic on his face set Morgan's nerves on edge.

"Jared, wait up! I'd better lead the way into the post, just in case," Morgan called out quietly. He wasn't convinced that the agents had the area completely secured. It was an instinct that he kept him alive for a long time. He was too late though the young bounty hunter had all ready reached the perimeter and was being stopped.

Holding up his ID, Morgan led Craig up to the agents and quickly explained the situation. Within seconds, they were being directed to one of three tents that were set up in a small meadow. The agent in charge indicated that it was the hospital tent. Stepping forward, Morgan saw Rossi coming out of the tent, intent on finding something.

"Rossi!" Morgan called out as he and his two companions covered the distance as fast as they could. Craig seemed to be in shock and was doing everything in automatic. The sun was too bright, the sky too high and there were too many people he didn't know around. He could feel Morgan's grip on his arm, it was the only thing that was keeping him grounded at all. Otherwise the young medic would have curled up in a ball and ignored the world.

"Derek!" Rossi responded as he turned toward the shout. He was greatly relieved to see the dark skinned agent and his two tag alongs. Now, if only JJ and Garcia were here they'd be complete. "I'm heading out to look for Sheriff Hicks and Deputy Cullen."

"How are they?" Derek asked, ignoring the man's comment for the moment.

"OK," Rossi hedged. "They'll be better once we get them to a hospital."

"Is Dave with them?" Jared demanded. He couldn't stand it anymore. He needed to know where his brother was.

"Yeah, he's in bad shape though. Someone beat him pretty thoroughly," Rossi stated. "He's been unconscious since they brought him in."

Without bothering to say anything, Jared headed out at a dead run toward the tent. His brother was finally safe but he wasn't sound. Guilt ate at his guts as he burst through the opening to the tent and came to a skidding stop. His eyes had to adjust to the low light of the confines of the tent. As soon as they did, he was kneeling beside his brother's cot.

"What did they do to you?" Jared breathed as he looked down at his brother's badly beaten body. Rage flared through Jared's body. He needed to hit someone, to pound them into oblivion for what had been done to his brother. Taking several deep breathes, he made sure he had the emotion under control before he reached out and touched the side of Dave's face. His brother was cool and clammy to the touch. "I'm going to kill them."

"No, you won't," Dave grated, his voice barely above a whisper. With a few hitched breaths, Dave forced his too heavy eye lids open and stared blurrily at his brother. Tears welled in his eyes, angrily, Dave tried to force them back down, with not much luck. "I'm not pulling your ass out of jail if you do."

"Are you okay?" Jared asked, his hand still on his brother's face. He needed the physical contact to convince himself that his brother was real. It felt like it had been a decade since he'd seen him last. He knew that he was damned lucky that his brother was still alive and reasonably whole. The urge to hug Dave tried to overpower the tall, bounty hunter. Instead, he sat back on his haunches and stared. Dave would kill him if he gave in to the need for a 'chick flick' moment.

"Just peachy," Dave responded, his voice hitching. Carefully he looked around for some water. His throat was dry like the Sahara desert. Thickly he licked his lips. "Water?"

"Sure, just hold on," Jared said. Regretfully, he removed his hand from Dave's cheek and brought a plastic cup with water in it to his lips. Carefully, he proped his brother's head up and helped him drink a few mouthfuls. "What did they do to you?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Dave said when he came up for breath. The water was so good. He felt like he could drink a thousand glasses and not be satiated. Even though he'd been unconscious for a good part of the trip out of the caves, Dave had the impression of a hand being somewhere it had no right to be. A shiver of revulsion passed through his body. Quickly, he skittered his thoughts away from the sensation. "Let's get the hell out of here."

"Whoa, there," Jared had to rush to keep Dave from trying to climb out of his cot and gain his feet. Looking at his big brother's white, slick face, he doubted even Dave could have managed it but he didn't plan on picking him up from the ground either. "We're going to go to the hospital and make sure you and Reid and Hotch are okay before we even think about going home."

Jumping at the mention of the two agents' names, Dave turned his head to the next cot. He was ecstatic to find Reid sleeping lightly, his face turned toward him. Just beyond the thin young man's head, he made out Hotch's dark hair. They were here too. They were safe. They were still alive. Thank God.

Tears tracking down his face, Dave looked back at his brother. Jared as here too. All was right with the world. Heaving a great sigh, he reached out, caught hold of Jared's closest hand and squeezed it. All ready exhausted beyond belief, Dave gave in to the darkness, knowing he was okay, that his brother was here to watch over him and Reid and Hotch. Still, he held onto Jared's hand. Just in case he decided to try to go somewhere. He wasn't going anywhere his brother couldn't follow. Not for a long time.

Getting a little more comfortable, Jared looked up as an agent came in followed by Morgan, Craig and Rossi. "The helicopters will be here in a few minutes. We're going to move the two agents in the first one and then your brother and the prisoner in the second. We'll be in a hospital within the hour."

"Thank you," Jared said. He glanced over at a now sleeping Reid and Hotch. They were getting the hell out of here, finally, together. Nothing else really mattered. With patience he hadn't know he had, Jared prepared to wait for the medics to load up and move the injured. Soon enough they would all see doctors and be treated for the atrocities that had been performed on them. Then the real healing would begin.


	15. Chapter 15

_Soooo, I guess this isn't going to be the last chapter. I can't just leave them hanging like that after all I've done to them. I hope you don't mind that a few more chapters are going to be in order, at least I think. This story has kind of taken on a life of its own so far so why would it stop now?_

_Thank you very much for the reviews! I feel so humbled that people like my stories well enough to take the time to let me know. It makes me want to write that much more!_

_Enjoy._

_Susanne_

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The trip to the hospital was uneventful. Arriving on the helipad of the nearest trauma hospital, Morgan and Rossi jumped out as soon as the door was opened and the paramedics began unloading Hotch and Reid. Looking off in the distance, Morgan could see the second helicopter, containing Dave, Jared, Thomas and Emily coming towards them.

The paramedic rattled off the information as two teams of doctors, nurses and aids swarmed up to the top of the pad, being wary of the still rapidly rotating blades at the top of the helicopter as they pulled the injured out and headed toward the door. Silently, watching for anything untoward happening to their friends, Morgan and Rossi stayed out of the way.

As the agents followed through the door, Rossi glanced back to see their helicopter lifting off and the second one hovering out of the way, waiting for its turn. Sending a silent prayer toward the second helicopter, that it may deliver its load safely, Rossi hustled to catch up with the two gurneys.

Once down the elevator, Hotch and Reid were wheeled to a large trauma bay. There was enough room for three gurneys. Hotch was wheeled into the first spot and Reid into the second. The teams split apart as they set about their preliminary exam of their charges.

"You're going to have to leave now, sir," a nurse said on her way by Rossi, her hands full of equipment. Beside him, Morgan answered for him.

"That's not going to happen. We're family. You're not doing anything without us watching," Morgan growled in response. There was no way in hell he was going to leave either Hotch or Reid. Not now, not anytime soon. Any security that tried to force the issue was going to get hurt, badly.

"Leave them alone. We have work to do," the doctor said. He'd recognized the hard edge to the agent's voice. He had no intentions of trying to remove either man by force. Turning his attention to the thin young man that had just been shifted onto the examination bed, the doctor began evaluating his injuries.

OOOOO

"So, how are they?" Rossi asked. They were standing between the two beds, feeling like they'd somehow invaded their friends' privacy by witnessing the things the medical staff had done to them. There were a few times that Rossi could feel Morgan tensing, trying to control his anger as the two agents were poked, prodded and catheterized. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they were finished.

During the process, Dave had been wheeled into the last bay. Once she was sure Dave and Jared were situated, Emily moved over to join Morgan and Rossi. During the more private procedures, she'd turned away. Those were images of her friends and colleagues that she didn't want to possess.

"Are you immediate family?" the doctor asked. Rossi had stopped Hotch's doctor as he'd attempted to leave the room. Reid's doctor was just giving some last minute instructions before he too was going to leave.

"Yes," Morgan growled, taking a step forward. There was no way in hell he was going to let the doctor pull that kind of bureaucratic crap on them. He was going to find out Hotch's condition if he had to beat it out of the man.

The doctor noticed Morgan's aggressive posturing but decided to ignore it. He'd all ready been informed by Garcia that Rossi and Morgan were the Person to Contact on Reid and Hotch's files.

"We're getting ready to send him up to surgery to try to remove any infected tissue and minimize the scarring on his side. He's been sodomized violently but most of the damage from that has healed on its own. He has multiple abrasions and bruises, some of which are more serious than others, but he's otherwise in relatively good shape. He's dehydrated and suffering from malnutrition. We've hooked him up to IV's that should rectify those problems quickly," the doctor said. He pulled off the blue paper hat off his head and wiped at the sweat that had collected on his brow. "We've also sending him for a CAT scan to determine the extent of any head injuries he's sustained. I take it someone didn't like him very much?"

"That's one way of putting it," Rossi agreed. "How's Dr. Reid?"

"I wasn't assigned to his case. Jim, you want to come over and fill these people in?" The doctor waited long enough to get an affirmative response before he left. In his wake, two of the nurses unlocked the wheels on Hotch's gurney and began pushing him toward the surgical wing of the hospital. Automatically, Morgan fell in beside Hotch's bed, resting a hand on his superior's arm to let him know he was there. As concerned as he was about Reid, Morgan wasn't about to let Hotch go anywhere unattended.

"Hi, I'm Jim Gifford," the other doctor said as he moved over to Emily and Rossi. He glanced to the bay where Dave was being worked on. "You're here for Dr. Reid?"

"Yes, we're his family," Rossi stated. Distantly he was aware of a minor riot going on down the hallway. He as too concerned about Reid to look toward it. Beside him, Emily had begun to tremble slightly. He wasn't sure if it was from fear or relief.

"Well, he's had a rough time of it. I see from his records that the damage to his rectum and leg has been administered before. While most of the internal damage has begun to heal nicely, his leg wound has become inflamed. Is he allergic to any antibiotics that you know of?"

"No, he's not. But I told the EMT's that he's had a problem with Dilaudid. He would not appreciate you giving him anything stronger than extra strength Tylenol," Rossi responded. Then he felt a blond presence whirl past him toward the bed Reid was still lying on. The first blond presence was immediately followed by a second one. Garcia and JJ had arrived. He knew that they were both very upset by Reid's appearance, hell he was too, but he didn't have time to deal with them yet. Understanding automatically, Emily paused long enough to grip Rossi's nearest arm and squeeze it slightly before headed toward where the two women were hovering over Reid.

"Thanks for the information about the substance abuse. We've kept that in mind when treating him. As far as the antibiotics, it's good that he isn't allergic, I'll start him on a heavy dosage to try to knock down the infection. He's suffered a few blows to the head which we're going to check out. As you've probably seen, he also has cuts and bruises but none of them should leave any lasting marks. Once we get him started on the antibiotics and get a CAT scan of his head, I'll be sending him up to the ward," Dr. Gifford stated.

"He needs to be in the same room as Agent Hotchner," Rossi said. He knew what kind of trouble not having the two men together was going to cause. Besides, it would make it easier for the rest of them to keep watch if they were together. As a last moment thought he added, "It would be good if Dave were in the same room as well. The three of them have been through a lot together and will need to lean on each other for a while."

"Sure thing. It might make the accommodations a little tight but I don't think that'll be a problem for them or for you," Dr. Gifford said. He paused long enough to make the notes in Reid's file before heading off to the next patient.

JJ and Garcia were on either side of Reid. Unconscious tears streamed down both of their faces. Garcia had hold of Reid's right hand, being careful of the IV, while JJ held onto his left one like it was the only thing keeping her together. Reid had been sedated and was sleeping blissfully for the moment. His pale, thin face was peaceful but not quite right. Rossi wasn't sure if he was imagining it or not but some of the young man's innocence seemed to have vanished to be replaced with a few hard lines that hadn't been there a week ago.

"What did they do to him? Where's Hotch?" JJ asked through her tears. In her relief at seeing the young man alive, JJ couldn't drag her eyes away from his face. She wasn't really sure she wanted the answer to the first question, her nightmares had all ready been keeping her up most nights, but she desperately needed to know the answer to the second.

"Hotch's on his way up to surgery. As soon as he's out of recovery they're going to put him in the same room as Reid. Morgan's with him, he's safe," Rossi assured her. Emily has silently moved up behind JJ and put a hand on her shoulder. A quick glance at the dark haired woman's face and Rossi knew that she was frantically compartmentalizing everything that had happened. It was what she did best. He just hoped that one day she allowed herself to feel what she too had been through.

"We're ready to take Dr. Reid to get his scan," a nurse said as she moved toward the bed. In her career she'd seen a lot of despair, a lot of miracles. She'd also seen a lot of makeshift families, families that were made from the heart, not from mere blood relations. These people were probably one of the strongest families she'd ever seen. "One of you can stay with him the rest will have to wait in his room. He'll be in 203 East Wing as soon as we're done."

"Thank you," Rossi responded. There wasn't even a reason for discussion he knew he was going to stay with Reid. The women were going to have to bide their time in the room. "I'll see you up there."

OOOOO

The first thing Hotch became aware of was the incredible pain lacing through his side. It felt like someone had taken a dull knife to it and cut a pound or two out of it. A low moan issued from his lips as he flitted closer to consciousness. Within seconds of the sound, a sensation of warmth began to spread through his body starting at his right arm. The pain vanished in seconds to be replaced by blissful euphoria. Damn, they'd used morphine or something similar on him.

"Reid," Hotch said, or so he thought. To Morgan, who was standing at the side of Hotch's bed, all that came out from between his boss's slack lips was a muffled sound. The surgery had been relatively uneventful and quicker than he'd expected. The CAT scan had also been a breeze. At the moment Morgan was waiting for the techs to make sure the images were good before shipping Hotch up to his room.

"Hotch," Morgan said as he saw Hotch's brown eyes flicker open. In all his time hovering over Hotch, even during the scans, he hadn't seen his friend show any signs of coming around. Moving a little closer, he felt waves of relief as those unfocused frown eyes finally came to rest on his face. "You're safe, you're in a hospital."

"Reid," Hotch tried again. The morphine made his actions clumsy. Instead of touching the side of Morgan's face to reassure himself that the other agent was real, he accidently struck him a glancing blow instead.

"Whoa," Morgan said as he caught hold of Hotch's flailing arm and put it back on the gurney. "Reid's safe too. They're running tests on him. You'll see him in a little while."

"He okay?" Hotch managed. The drugs were trying to drag him down back into oblivion. He felt Morgan rest his hand on his arm. The touch was reassuring. The drugs pulled even harder.

"As far as I know," Morgan responded. "Emily sent me a text a few minutes ago. He's been scanned and is in room 203. That's where you're going as soon as your tests are finished. Shouldn't be more than a few minutes now."

"Good," Hotch slurred. Try as hard as he could, he couldn't stay above the surface. Hotch's mind slid into the darkness where he was safe. Unconsciously, he caught hold of Morgan's arm and gripped it tightly.

"It's okay, Hotch, I'll keep watch. You take it easy." As Morgan spoke the words quietly, the technician nodded to the two orderlies and they began to push SSA Hotchner down the hallway toward the elevator.

OOOOO

"How is he?" Rossi asked. The orderlies had finished transferring Dave from the gurney to his hospital bed. Dr. Gifford was right the room was a little crowded with the three beds and all the associated equipment. It didn't leave a lot of room for Emily, JJ, Garcia and Rossi to hover much less Jared, who in his tallness, made the space appear to evaporate that much faster.

"He'll be fine," Jared responded. He glanced over at Reid. The young genius was still sleeping but not so soundly. As Jared watched, a grimace passed over his too young looking features.

"Good," Rossi said. He too had noticed the grimace. Before he had a chance to react, however, mother Garcia was there. She took Reid's nearest hand up in both of hers and began speaking to him in low, reassuring tones. Within seconds, the distress left his lean features and he heaved a huge sigh before settling back into a deeper, more comforting sleep.

"We got the bastards, right?" Jared asked. Dave too was unconscious thanks to the good drugs the doctors had administered to him. Jared was almost grateful. It gave him a little time to adjust. To stare at his big brother and know that it wasn't all a dream. Damn but he wasn't willing to go through this crap again.

"Yes, we did," Rossi responded. Coffee was beginning to call his name. He didn't even have to look at the others to know that they needed the stimulating effect of the rich, brown liquid. Just as he was about to mention going on a coffee run, Hotch was wheeled in, Morgan bringing up the rear.

For the first time in days the team was together. Ignoring the medical staff, the BAU looked at each other, revelling in their combined presence. If only it had been under better circumstances. Once Hotch and Dave were both settled into their beds, their machines properly hooked up and their life signs taken, the medical personnel left.

"Oh God," Garcia breathed as she moved to sit in the only chair between Reid and Hotch's beds. She had a hand on both of them. No one was going to take them away from her. In her bag in her lap was the all too familiar hand gun. They were going to have to go through her first. After the first time Mary had kidnapped Hotch and Reid, Penelope had gone and had lessons. Aaron would be impressed if he knew how many times she'd hit the center but that was a talent she had no intentions of showing any of them. It was her secret weapon, the only one she had.

"Those bastards. They deserve a long, painful death," Garcia growled under her breath. Emily was resting against the wall, an arm thrown around JJ's shoulders. The younger blond woman had hardly said a word. She had both hands up to her mouth, her blue eyes were huge. Emily was beginning to suspect that she was going into shock. She hoped not though, that was the last thing they needed. Morgan and Rossi had taken up positions on either side of the doorway. No one was getting in the room without their okay first.

"And I'll get to hunt them down when they jump bail," Jared responded from the far end of the room. "They're going to regret ever knowing Dave and I, don't worry."

That thought was one of the few that gave Jared solace. The bastards would jump bail and try to hide in other antigovernment groups. He and Dave would hunt them down like the dogs they were and drag their asses back to jail. This was one of the times that Jared loved his job. Shifting his position against the wall, Jared rested the back of his head against it and prepared to catch a little shut eye. At least here, now, there was someone he trusted to keep an eye on his brother. After the hell of the last few days, he was willing to take advantage of it. Not for the first time in his life, Jared fell into a light sleep standing up.


	16. Chapter 16

_I am so very sorry that this has taken so long. My mind just hasn't been on writing this summer. Too much reality has set in. I will try to get this finished by the end of the month but at the moment I can't promise anything. _

_If you've stuck in there this long you have my undying thanks. Please let me know if I've lost the gist of the story at all. I'm no longer sure._

_Susanne_

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

When the nurses' changed shifts the new duty nurse in charge tried to order all of the BAU members out of the room. Her patients were all sleeping soundly. It probably had more to do with the lateness of the hour, midnight, than with any of the pain killers they had been administered after surgery. The male nurse wasn't especially frightened of the glowering people standing in the room but there was a sense of protectiveness that pervaded the room. He knew intuitively that they were there out of love.

"Look, I know you're worried about your friends BUT they all have a long road ahead of them and they will need you as much then as now. If you run yourselves ragged you will not be doing them or yourselves any favours. Please, if you must, leave one or two people here and the rest of you go get a good night's sleep, a good breakfast and a shower," the nurse said. He'd been warned by the shift that just left that the FBI agents had no intentions of leaving but he really did believe what he just said. They needed rest and to take care of themselves as much as their friends did.

"You know he's right," Rossi stated. As much as he hated to admit it, now that the adrenaline of finding the lost and making sure they were okay had worn off, he was exhausted beyond imagining. The sound of a shower and a bed were heaven. He glanced at Morgan to see that the younger man was trying to convince himself that he was okay. "Hotch and Reid will need us in the morning more than they do now. We need to get some sleep and a shower would be a very good idea. We all stink."

"I'm not leaving him," Morgan stated as he continued to stare at Reid's wan face. The profiler part of his brain knew that watching the kid while he slept kept Reid from getting a good night's sleep. The friend part of his brain didn't care. There was no way in hell he was letting Reid, or Hotch for that matter, out of his line of sight ever again.

"You look like hell, sweetie. You need to get some sleep. I'll stay here with Hotch and Reid. I'll call you if they wake up or if anything changes. Go. Shoo. Rossi's right, you all stink after spending so much time in the woods," Garcia said, her purse positioned protectively on her lap. "You could go get some sleep too, Jared. I'll watch over Dave for you."

"No," Jared responded. He'd still been dozing against the wall and felt remarkably refreshed. "I would like a shower though."

"That can be arranged. The rest of you, please, go get some sleep," Jackson, the male nurse, tried to convince them. While they'd been talking, the dark haired and blond haired women along the right wall had really started to wilt. Obviously everyone was tired beyond endurance. Morgan seemed to visibly deflate. His strong shoulders rounded with fatigue as he looked at the floor in embarrassment. He hated to admit weakness.

"Okay. Call our cells if anything comes up." Following Garcia's emphatic head nodding, Morgan allowed Rossi to lead him out of the doorway and down the hallway, Emily and J.J. struggling to keep up. It had been a very long day.

"Come with me. I'll get you some clean clothes and show you where the shower's located," Jackson said as he headed out the door. He had no doubt that the tall young man would follow.

Alone for the first time, Garcia allowed tears to track down her cheeks. Standing up, she leaned over Reid's bed and gently kissed him on the forehead. The young genius was so thin and pale. It was unnerving to look at him. She wasn't used to seeing him so still and quiet. Moving over to Hotch's bed, she repeated the gesture. As she stood upright, she tenderly ran a hand along the side of Hotch's jaw. The tears continued to fall but she didn't make a sound.

Sitting back in her chair, Penelope pulled a netbook out of her purse and opened it. If she was going to spend the night, she was going to do it working. There were still some members of the two groups that had held Hotch that were running free. While she didn't think they were a threat to her friends, she did want to make sure the bastards, all of them, spent the time they deserved in jail.

OOOOO

The world was swirling around, making it very hard for SSA Aaron Hotchner to stay on his feet. Moving like a drunken man, Hotch stumbled to the nearest tree. He was in a forest, one he couldn't remember ever seeing before. It was dense with trees, making it hard to determine the time of day. In the undergrowth of the trees it could have been eleven in the morning or seven at night, it all looked about the same.

Breathing heavily, Aaron rubbed a hand across his mouth. The tilting, swirling world around him was making him feel a little motion sickness. In the dim light, he couldn't see well enough to know if he was alone but his instincts were screaming at him that there was someone else here. Scanning around, Aaron wished he had a flashlight, anything to help him see more than two feet in front of him. Putting the tree he was leaning against to his back, Hotch tried to prepare himself for anything. He hated being unarmed. It made him feel vulnerable, not an emotion he particularly liked, especially not now.

Trying to concentrate with every fibre of his being, Hotch scanned his immediate area. All he saw was grey and black. The rest of the world could have been a figment of his imagination for all he knew at the moment. His ears rang from the complete lack of sound. Suddenly, strong hands caught hold of him, pulling him away from the tree.

In a matter of seconds, Hotch found himself pressed against a large rock, his back exposed. He still couldn't see or hear anything. It was like being wrapped in a thick cloak of grey and black wool. That didn't explain the hands. One pair had hold of his wrists and was pulling Hotch over the top of the rock. Another pair had hold of his feet, keeping him from sliding over the side. A third pair of hands was resting on his hips and then they made their way around to the buckle on his belt.

_Not again. NO! NOT AGAIN! _shrieked through Hotch's mind while his body was unable to make a single sound. Struggle as he may, the Unit Chief was unable to dislodge the hands. Before he was even vaguely ready his pants were down around his ankles, followed immediately by his underwear. The hands were strong, rough textured and careless in how they handled him. Bile rising in his throat while all he wanted to do was scream his defiance, Hotch felt something warm, hard and try to force its way into his body. The pain was worse than he remembered. It felt like it was tearing a hole in the center of his soul. In his head, Hotch continued to rail against the shame, helplessness and rage that poured through his body.

OOOOO

The first scream was muffled. With her mind in the cyber world, Garcia wasn't even sure she'd heard it, it had been that quiet. Looking up, expecting to see a nurse or intern making noise outside the room, the eruption of the next scream startled her. Her computer dropping unnoticed to the floor, Penelope sprang to her feet and grabbed hold of Hotch's nearest flailing arm. The Unit Chief's lips were pulled back against his teeth as the screams continued to erupt until they changed.

"Hotch! Hotch! It's okay!" Garcia tried to reassure him. Seeing no signs that her boss was coming out of it, she reached over with her free hand and shook his shoulder, anything to get him to stop the keening wail that had replaced the screams. Also, she wanted her hand back because Hotch was threatening to break every bone it contained with the death grip he had on it.

In an instant Jared was by her side, adding his attempts to wake the older man. Despite everything Hotch had been through, the young bounty hunter was shocked by the strength he was currently demonstrating. It took everything he had to keep Hotch under control enough to not let him pull out his lines and the leads on his chest for the cardiac machines.

"Hotch! Calm down! You're safe!" Jared said as quietly as he could while still being heard. Still holding onto the flailing arms and legs, he glanced over to where Dave was sleeping to find him staring at him. Beyond Garcia's shoulder Jared could see Reid also watching.

The screaming continued despite all their efforts. It was like Hotch was so far in the dream, experiencing it like it was real, that they were unable to penetrate. By now the whole floor was awake. Two nurses rushed into the room, a hypodermic in one of their hands.

"What's that?" Garcia demanded as the nurse attempted to inject it into Hotch.

"It's a sedative. We've got to calm him down somehow without letting him hurt himself," the nurse stated matter of factly. She continued to weave and duck, trying to get a clear shot.

"Leave him alone!" Reid demanded as he erupted out of his own bed, ignoring all the wires and tubes. In a heartbeat he was standing beside Hotch's bed. Reid reached behind Penelope and pushed the nurse with the needle away. Gently he elbowed Garcia out of the way and tenderly placed his hands on either side of Hotch's thrashing head.

As soon as he touched his boss, his friend, the older man calmed. Through ragged breaths, Hotch's eyes slowly opened, blinking rapidly. "You're okay. I'm okay, we're safe," Reid intoned as he moved into Aaron's line of sight.

"Reid?" Hotch's voice was gravelly as he continued to blink at the lean young face hovering over him. The world shifted briefly as Aaron's dreams tried to take over. Shivers of shame and revulsion wracked his body as Hotch forced his mind to stay in the here and now. Tears sprang unbidden into Hotch's brown eyes as he took in Garcia, Jared and the nurses. The shame of what he happened to him seemed that much worse now that he knew there were witnesses. An overwhelming need to pull into a fetal position and ignore the world tried to protect him.

"You're safe," Reid repeated as the nurses began to edge away from the bed. The ability of the young genius to soothe the older agent impressed them deeply. Clearly the two men had a very strong bond. "You're safe."

"Are you okay?" Hotch asked as he tried to gain control of his breathing and the shakes that continued to pass through him. He deliberately ignored the nurses and had trouble making eye contact with Garcia and Jared. He was very happy to see them but he hated that they knew what had been done to him and Spencer. One look at their faces, he knew they knew. Under the still flowing tears, Hotch's hallowed out cheeks turned red with embarrassment. It was so much easier to worry about Reid.

A quiet laugh passed through Reid. Of course Hotch would worry about him first. It was his way. His team always came first, especially Spencer. The young genius hated that automatic reaction from his boss and the other members of the BAU. At the moment, though, the thought touched his heart. Those bastards hadn't reached every part of his soul.

"I'm fine," Reid reassured Hotch as Garcia and Jared let go. They were finally satisfied that the Unit Chief was awake and coherent. It took everything Garcia had to hide the devastation that Hotch's screaming had caused in her mind and soul. To know that someone had done something to cause that kind of reaction to Hotch and Reid made her sick in ways she hadn't even imagined possible.

"So is Dave," Reid added as the older bounty hunter joined the huddle around the bed. He too had ripped out his tubs and wires. Now that he knew that Jared was safe, as were Reid and Hotch, there was no way the doctors were going to keep him in bed. Well, he hoped. The few minutes of standing he'd done so far, was all ready wearing him out.

"You all need to get back into bed," Jackson instructed from the foot of the bed. Seeing the two injured men up and about bewildered him. Under no circumstances should either one of them be able to climb out of bed, much less stand. "You're going to cause yourselves further injury."

Gulping back a strangled sob, Hotch caught hold of Reid's hand. He could feel how cold and clammy the younger man's skin was. Clearly Reid wasn't up to snuff either. As much as Hotch wanted Reid near him, he knew that neither one of them would sleep if they were in the same bed, they were too damned small and uncomfortable. But again, the urge was nearly overwhelming. Squeezing Reid's hand, Hotch allowed himself to be pushed back into his bed. Reluctantly, he let go of his surrogate son.

"We're safe," Reid said again as he sank gratefully onto his own bed. His legs had begun trembling in the brief time he'd been standing. The pain in his hip and thigh were no longer allowing themselves to be ignored either. Gingerly, Reid pulled his legs up and rested them on the bed. As best he could, he laid on his side, facing Hotch. He needed to know that his boss was there and that he was safe. The young genius had the feeling that he was going to need to know this for a long while to come.

"Are they all in custody?" Hotch asked, turning from Reid long enough to face Garcia. Well, almost face her. The computer tech's bright collar was suddenly fascinating to him. He couldn't tear his eyes off of it.

For the briefest moment Garcia considered lying to her boss. Then she realized he'd know if she did. Dropping her eyes from Hotch's unfocused brown ones, Garcia stared at the floor for the moment. "Almost."

"How many are unaccounted for?" Hotch asked, his voice still gravelly from screaming. He was shifting into his work mode. It helped to distance him from what had happened. From his fear.

"Don't worry about it," Jared said as he helped his brother back into bed. Jackson moved as if to reattach the IV and heart monitors but Dave waved him off. Getting back into bed was one thing. Being turned back into a pin cushion was another one entirely. "There are more agents than I knew existed looking for them."

For a brief moment Hotch considered asking more questions. Then the thought was gone as exhaustion crashed over him and he was out.


	17. Chapter 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The next morning Hotch woke slowly. It felt like he hadn't slept at all. His eyes felt like they were lined with sand paper and his mouth felt thick, like he was dehydrated or something. Images of his captivity by both Mary and the cult flashed through his mind, leaving the Unit Chief momentarily confused as to where he actually was. Then the antiseptic smell of the hospital came to him. Memories of the night's events resurfaced.

A small groan escaped Aaron's lips as the shame of his weakness being demonstrated to the others was realized. The sudden need to curl up in a dark hole somewhere tried to overwhelm him. Forcing his eyes open, Hotch looked around. He was relieved to find Dave asleep in his bed. Jared was curled up in a chair beside him sound asleep. On the other side he found Penelope looking at him quietly. Beyond her he made out Reid's sleeping form.

"How are you feeling?" Penelope asked her eyes full of concern for her boss. She'd salvaged her computer to find that it had survived the tumble to the ground with a minimum of damage and had spent the rest of the night continuing to research the other members of the survivalists. She wasn't going to let any of them get away. It was with great relief that she'd seen Hotch stir. After the events of last night she almost expected the older man to be out of his mind.

"I'm fine," Hotch replied automatically. He flashed a glance at Penelope as he tried to see beyond her to Reid. In his current position he couldn't see the younger man's face but knew from the stillness of his form that he must be sleeping. Dr. Spencer Reid was rarely still. Hotch attributed that to the amount of coffee the kid consumed in a day.

"And I'm Derek Morgan," Garcia responded without thinking. She knew from the way her boss wasn't looking at her directly that he remembered last night and was embarrassed. She hated that he felt that way. It was a completely unnatural sensation coming from the stoic, strong man she was used to dealing with.

For the first time since this whole ordeal had begun, Hotch turned his intense brown eyes on the younger woman. Any of his other agents would have wilted under that gaze. Penelope just returned it. After a few tense moments, a slow smile began to crease the corners of Hotch's mouth.

"You're right. I'm not fine but I will be," Hotch admitted. Stiff beyond imagining, Hotch tried to shift his aching body only to find too many tubes. One of them was in a place that he'd never wanted to have a tube. His automatic reaction was to pull it out but he decided against it. As much as he figured he knew what was wrong with him, maybe the doctors knew something he didn't.

As if in answer to Aaron's thoughts, the door to their room opened and two doctors and two nurses walked in. "Good morning, Agent Hotchner," the older of the two doctors stated when he saw the man awake. "We're going to do a brief examination of each of you and remove what we can. I know that none of you want to spend any more time here than absolutely necessary."

"Thank you. We would all appreciate that," Hotch stated. He desperately wanted to ask Garcia to leave but he knew that chances were pretty slim by now that his team didn't know the extent of the degradation he and the others had been subjected to. Besides, at this point he wasn't sure how much dignity he had left to preserve.

As soon as the new voice was heard, the other three men awakened immediately. Jared was on his feet, standing between his brother and the door before he was completely aware of what was going on. Once he was aware, he continued to be a barrier until he was absolutely certain they posed no threat. If anything, Jared moved further into the room so he was able to protect all three patients. Just in case.

While incredibly embarrassing, the examinations went quickly and after they were done all three patients felt that much better. At least they could go to the bathroom on their own now. At this point in their lives, that was a huge relief.

"We're going to keep you here until we're convinced that there is no possibility of complications. After that we'll let you rest at home and set up rehabilitation," the senior doctor stated as the others left the room. "Things are looking good." With a smile the man followed his colleagues out the door.

"Thank God," Dave breathed from his bed. "I'll go crazy if I have to stay here much longer."

"I think we can all agree on that," Hotch stated. The sooner they got out of here the better he'd feel.

OOOOO

After a week Hotch and Reid were allowed to go home. The hospital staff had done what they could to heal the agents' wounds, including skin grafts on Hotch. Dave had been released two days earlier but had insisted on staying until the others were released as well.

Two very large orderlies loaded Hotch and Reid into wheelchairs with their meagre belongs, cards, flowers and other items in their laps. Both agents grumbled angrily but had secretly been dreading the long journey to the front door and freedom.

"Are we ready?" Jared asked. He and Dave were practically vibrating with nervous energy in front of the two agents. They hated hospitals.

"Yes," Hotch stated relief evident in every muscle of his body. He hated hospitals too.

"All right," Dave breathed as they all headed down the hallway toward the elevators.

In a companionable silence, the group waited for the elevator to arrive and the doors to slide open and then they arranged all six of them in the empty confines. The silence lasted about half a minute more.

"Sooo," Jared stated. He and Dave had been trying to broach this subject for two days but hadn't found the right moment. Now they'd run out of time and it felt awkward as hell.

"Yes?" Reid asked. He'd known something was up but had waited for them to start. Uncomfortably, he shifted in the wheelchair. Despite everything the doctors had done, his hip still ached abominably when he sat too long, which was about 3 minutes.

"Where are we taking you two?" Dave interjected. Jared had scoped out both agents' apartments and knew that in their present state they were inaccessible. Reid lived on the sixth floor with an elevator that worked intermittently at best while Hotch was on the third floor of his building with no elevator. Up until now, these facts really hadn't mattered to either man.

"Home." The response from both men was almost in concert. All they really wanted to do was sleep in their own beds tonight. Finally.

"Ah, we've been thinking about your homes," Dave said. He and Jared had taken up positions between Hotch and Reid and the elevator door. Now that they were having this conversation, they'd turned to face the two men, ignoring the orderlies entirely.

"What about them?" Hotch asked. Then images of the stairs to his apartment rushed to the front of his mind. All ready his side where the skin grafts were was stiff and very sore and all he'd done was get out of bed. Hotch climbing that many stairs was out of the question. Damn. At the back of the Unit Chief's mind, he'd wondered where his team was. They'd all vanished last night upon hearing that he and Reid were to be released in the morning.

"I hate to say it but I don't think either one of you is ready to go back to your homes," Jared stated as gently as he could. Seeing the defiance and pain that flashed over Reid's gaunt face, he knelt down in front of him and rested his hands on the wheelchair arms. "Your elevator is out. The super said it would be at least a week before it will be fixed. They had to order parts from Europe or somewhere."

The joy of going home to his apartment burst like an over inflated balloon. Tears came to Reid's eyes. Until that moment, he hadn't realized just how important going home to his apartment had been to him. Angry at the sign of weakness, Reid blinked back the tears and glared at the bounty hunter.

"What did you have in mind?" Hotch asked. He'd seen Reid's reaction and wanted to redirect the conversation before he said or did something he would regret.

"Well," Dave began. At that moment the elevator doors slid open to reveal the main floor. Standing up, Jared and Dave led the way toward the main doors. Instinctively, they each took a position on either side of the agents, just in case.

"Penelope has found a single level safe house," Jared stated. "It has four bedrooms. She wants us all to move in there until you're able to go home."

"And maybe until after the trials are over," Dave added. They'd reached the front entrance. Parked directly outside was a familiar Federal, black SUV.

The trials. Plural. Until this moment Hotch had managed to block the legal aftermath of their nightmare from his thoughts. Of course there would be trials and many more than one. There would probably be two trials for Mary alone on her separate counts of kidnapping of himself and Reid, not to mention the others. Then there was Doug and the survivalist group that had thrown him and Dave down the well to die. A separate trial would be held for the white slavers that had kidnapped and abused the two police officers Reid, Dave and himself. Lastly, there would be the trial of the men that had bought them at auction. The very thought of the months, possibly years all of this would involve exhausted Hotch.

"I'd like to go home," Reid stated quietly. He needed to go to his apartment, to be alone. Just to prove to himself that he could. After everything he'd been through, the young genius had begun to lose himself, going home had been one of the ways he'd planned to reclaim at least part of himself.

"I know," Jared sympathized as he helped the younger man into the back seat of the SUV. Carefully, he placed Reid's small bundle of possessions on his lap once he was settled. On the other side of the vehicle, Dave was doing the same with Hotch. "But you can't just for now."

Again Reid fought back tears. It seemed so very unfair but then, very little in Reid's life had ever been particularly fair. Slipping the seat belt over his shoulder and snapping it in place, Reid tried to not flinch when Jared shut the door. Staring ahead, wrestling with his emotions, Spencer was completely unprepared for the hand that gently touched his left knee. It was all the comfort Hotch need to offer. Okay. They were going to be together, all of them. That at least was something.

Climbing into the driver's seat, Jared twisted around until he faced Reid. There was no way in hell he was going to force this decision on the young profiler. Too many things had been forced on him all ready.

"Let's go to the safe house," Reid said, a watery smile gracing his lips and eyes.

"Okay, here we go," Jared said as he turned back around and started the engine. Still feeling shaky, Reid turned his face toward the window. Silently, the unshed tears began to track down his face. Just as Hotch went to remove his hand from his subordinate's leg, Reid's left hand came down and rested on top of it. As much as he hated to admit it, Hotch was grateful. He'd really been looking forward to going home too.

OOOOO

The trip was made in silence. After nearly 45 minutes of driving, Jared pulled onto a tree lined street. Stopping at a metal gate, he reached over to a pin pad and placed his hand against it. The gate rolled over to reveal an opulent estate. The driveway was all ready partially filled with vehicles. Hotch recognized them all as belonging to his team. Just pulling out was a large moving van. It rumbled to the gate and then out into the street. The gate closed behind it.

"What's going on? Reid asked. His tears were long dry not that he'd had time to adjust to the situation.

"You'll see," Dave responded as he jumped out of the front passenger seat and came around to help the young genius out.

"I don't know how many more surprised I can handle today," Spencer admitted.

"You'll like this one," Jared stated as he and Hotch came around the other side of the vehicle. He tried not to hover because he knew Hotch would hate it but the Unit Chief seemed to be a little unsteady on his feet.

"I hope so," Reid muttered as he and Dave followed Hotch and Jared toward the ornate front door. "This place only has four bedrooms?"

"Well, there might be a few more but we only need four of them," Jared said as he pushed the wooden door open.

It looked like something out of 'Gone with the Wind' or 'CSI: Miami' but the things that really caught the agents' eyes were Morgan, Garcia, J.J., Emily and Rossi. The Unit were standing just inside the door and to the last one they looked like the cat that ate the canary.

"Welcome home," J.J. said as she stepped forward and delivered a kiss on Hotch and Reid's cheek. It was so good to see the two of them up and about. With a physical effort, she shoved the images their debriefings had created in her mind away. Today was a good day she wasn't going to put a damper on it by breaking down crying. Damn Mary and Doug. She hoped both of them got exactly what they deserved.

"Thank you," Hotch responded graciously as he took in their surroundings. Reid didn't say anything as he blushed furiously. "What is this place?"

"It was seized as part of a giant drug bus two months ago. It's going to be auctioned off once the trials are over. That should give you plenty of time to get back to your apartments," Garcia explained. She'd chosen this place because of the security system that was all ready in place, the number of bedrooms and the pool. She figured that would help them all in their recovery.

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this," Hotch began. He'd never been able to put up with any impropriety. It went against his nature.

"I've all ready had it approved," Morgan assured his boss. "Come on, I'll show you your room."

Giving in, Hotch allowed Morgan to lead him behind the wide set of stairs. "You're all back there," Rossi said. Silently, Reid, Dave and Jared followed behind Morgan and Hotch. The others brought up the rear.

This section of the house was probably designated for staff or guests. Compared to the rest of the house, the rooms were probably considered small. Opening the indicated door, Hotch was somewhat startled to find a room nearly the size of his apartment with his own bed set up along the wall furthest away from the windows.

"How?" Hotch managed. The members of his team had stayed with them the entire time, one at a time, of course, but still he couldn't imagine when they'd had time to do this.

"When we knew you were being released we stole yours and Reid's keys. We figured at the very least you could sleep in your own beds," Morgan stated simply. He stood at the doorway and watched as Hotch reverently made his way to the night stand beside and bed and picked up a framed picture of Jack that was set there. It showed his son's happy, smiling face. The frame was made of wood that someone had taken the time to pain. The words 'I love you Daddy' were scrawled in a child's hand across the top and down one side.

Hugging the picture to his chest, Hotch folded bonelessly onto the edge of the bed. Lifting his intense brown eyes up to Morgan's, the younger man was shaken to find tears and indescribable pain in their dark depths.

"Hotch?" Morgan asked. Quietly he closed the door behind him and moved toward his boss.

"How am I going to explain all of this to my son?" Hotch asked, his voice full of pleading. He'd managed to hold it all together until he'd seen his son's beautiful, innocent face beaming up at him from the handmade picture frame.

"All of what Hotch?" Morgan pushed. They all knew what had happened to Spencer and Aaron from the agents' own statements and those of Rachel and Deputy Cullen. He wasn't sure if his boss and friend was ready to talk about it or not. But he wanted to leave opportunity open if it presented itself.

"Being kidnapped four times, being..." Hotch stopped. He knew better than the others how well Derek Morgan understood what he and Reid were going through but it didn't make the words any easier to say.

Cautiously, Morgan settled into an arm chair on the other side of the night stand. Under his caring, concerned facade, Derek's blood was boiling. Seeing his boss and friend so broken and vulnerable made him want to kill Mary and Doug. They were the ones who started the entire series of events. He placed the blame squarely on their heads.

"We know what your statements say," Morgan prompted Hotch gently. He wanted the older man to know that they were away of everything that had happened to him and Reid. He was hoping it would make talking about it easier for Hotch.

Shame burned brightly on Hotch's face. Suddenly uncomfortable, Aaron let his eyes moved down to rest on his son's beautiful face.

"You know you have nothing to be ashamed of, right?" Morgan spoke quietly as he moved to the edge of his chair so he could be closer. Hotch's exhausted body and spirit left his muscles trembling with fatigue. Before anything else happened both he and Reid were in need of a long, undisturbed nap Morgan decided.

"I'm a highly trained FBI agent. How the hell did I let any of this happen to me, to Reid?" Hotch asked all his anger and humiliation evident in his subdued tones.

"You didn't 'let' anything happen to you Hotch. Everything that occurred, the events that brought all this about, were beyond your control. There's nothing you could have done to prevent any of it short of getting yourself and/or Reid killed. I don't know about you but I don't consider that as a viable option," Morgan said. As he watched the trembling got worse. Silent tears streamed down Hotch's cheeks and fell unnoticed on the picture frame glass.

"He raped me," Hotch said. He waited for his world to come crumbling down around his ears now that he'd sit it out loud. Sadly, that didn't appear to happen. Somehow that made the nightmarish act real. A sob burst from his tightly drawn lips. Hotch tried to keep his emotions under control. He wasn't going to lose it in front of his subordinate.

"I know," Morgan stated. He tried to get a look at Hotch's face but his too long hair was hanging down making it impossible.

"He raped Reid and there was nothing I could do to stop it," Hotch continued. The trembling had turned to all out shaking as the powerful emotions burst past Hotch's defences. Another sob broke through, followed by another one.

"I know," Morgan echoed. Seeing the dam crumble, he moved off the chair, sank down on the bed beside his boss and tentatively took the older man into his arms. At first Hotch's body was stiff and unyielding. Morgan thought briefly he'd made a mistake, overstepped his bounds. "I couldn't stop it from happening to me either."

Tears tracked down Morgan's dark skin so Hotch's body became wracked with sobs. The dam had burst. There was no way to build it up again until the pressure was released. Morgan held Hotch a little tighter as the older man's body slowly leaned into his, Hotch's tears soaking his shirt. Silently, as he waited for Hotch to cry himself dry, Morgan contemplated exactly what he'd do to Mary and Doug if they ever had the misfortune to be left alone with him.

OOOOO

"Is that really MY bed?" Reid asked as he made his way around the room Rossi had indicated as being his.

"Yeah," Rossi responded from his spot at the door. The others were checking out Dave and Jared's rooms. They wanted to make sure they were acceptable to the bounty hunters since they hadn't had any personal furniture to work around. "We wanted to make sure you'd be comfortable. Morgan went through your book shelves and brought the ones he knew are your favourites."

Reverently, Spencer moved over to the huge bookcase that took up one full wall of the room. Derek had crammed it as full as he could. Tears began anew. Memories of his mother on his good days reading to him flowed through Reid's thoughts.

"Thank you," Reid breathed. Maybe being her wouldn't be so bad after all. Tentatively, Spencer ran a finger across the spines of the books as he read their names. Of course he knew every book by heart thanks to his phenomenal memory but that didn't replace the feel of the pages under his fingers or the smell of the old paper. Somehow old books always made him feel at home.

"Dave and Jared are going to stay here with you and Hotch. Morgan plans on bringing his dog and moving in too. I don't think he wants to let either of you out of his sight," Rossi stated as he watched the young man make a circuit of his room until he wound up at his bed. Exhausted beyond words, Reid slowly lowered his protesting body down onto the nearest side.

"They've all been caught, right?" Reid inquired, looking up at the older man. Now that Spencer was situated, he'd moved into the room to sit on a chair close to the bed.

"Everyone that has ever been associated with any of the groups involved have been, yes," Rossi said.

"Then we don't need all this protection. The fact that we aren't in our own apartments should be enough," Reid stated. He was becoming distracted by his bed calling his name. Or was it Tommy and the others? Reid wasn't sure. He was just glad that Tommy had fed him enough details of the attacks to keep the agents taking his statement happy. There was no way in hell Reid was going to admit he had the others living in his head. People all ready thought he was weird enough. Deep down inside there was also the ever present fear that someone would find out and lock him away in an asylum just like he'd had to do to his mother.

"As far as being worried about your safety goes, you're right. The idea to move your here, though, came more out of necessity. As much as we all love you and Hotch, none of us was willing to carry you up the stairs to your apartments," Rossi stated laughter in his voice.

The idea of that ultimate humiliation burned into Reid. There was no way he was going to allow anyone to carry him. If he couldn't make it home on his own two legs, he'd move.

Through the walls of the bedroom, Reid and Rossi could dimly hear the others talking. Jared was having a good time giving J.J. and Garcia a bad time about their decorating efforts. Beyond Hotch's wall, though, all they could make out was a low murmur.

Rossi turned serious for a moment. "You know you can talk to me about anything," he stated as he looked across at Reid's too think features. The first order of business was to put some meat back on the boy's bones. Rossi planned to make it part of his own personal crusade.

Instantly suspicious, Reid looked up at the older man's face. Did he know about Tommy and the others? No, there was no way. Reid was too good at covering up their existence.

"We've all read your statements, yours and Hotch's, Rachel's and Deputy Cullen's. We know what they did to you," Rossi said, trying to be as gentle as he could. "We're all here for you and Hotch no matter what."

"Thanks," Reid hedged. "We know that."

A strange noise came from Hotch's room. In a few moments it was followed by another. It took both men a moment or two to realize what the sound was. Suddenly scared by the idea that Hotch was crying so loudly that they could hear him through the wall, Reid looked up at Rossi. There was panic, fear and shame in the younger man's dark eyes.

"It's okay," Rossi said as he shifted to the front of his chair. He felt an overwhelming urge to take Reid in his arms. That was a new sensation for the older man. He'd always been kind of stand-offish with all the members of the team. He wasn't really the touchy, feely type.

"No, it's not okay," Reid growled back. "None of this is okay. What they all did to us is not okay."

An overwhelming anger was building up inside Reid as images from his own memories and others from Tommy played through his mind. Standing up abruptly, Reid began to pace around his room despite the protests of his hip.

"Of course you're right. None of this is even close to being okay. I'm sorry. It was a hollow platitude," Rossi apologized as he too stood up and watched as Reid began to limp almost immediately. The longer he paced, the worse the limp got.

The muffled sounds from Hotch's room were almost continuous now. Hearing it was making Reid even angrier. How could Mary, Doug and all the others done what they did to Hotch? Reid kind of understood what had happened to him. He was an easy target. He had been working at making himself a harder target but so far he'd been unsuccessful. But to target Hotch, strong, confident Hotch and to turn him into the weeping person next door was more than Reid could take.

So angry he didn't know what to do about it, Reid stomped up to the nearest wall and punched it with his right hand. The pain that immediately blossomed was dulled by the fury flowing through the young profiler's veins.

Shocked by this completely un-Reid like behaviour, it took Rossi a minute to react. By the time he did, Reid had struck the wall as second and third time, leaving a blood mark behind. Just as Reid was going to take another swing, Rossi came up behind him and wrapped his arms around Reid's thin trunk.

"Let go!" Reid shouted as he struggled to break away. For the first time in his life, Reid was finding that physical violence was making him feel better.

"You have every right to be angry," Rossi said as he pulled the still struggling man away from the wall. "But I'm not going to let you hurt yourself."

"Let go of me!" Reid growled between clenched teeth. The close, physical contact was replacing the anger with panic. Even though this was Rossi, the young profiler couldn't stand being touched. The rapid transition sent Reid's body into a confused cascade of reactions.

Still struggling with the older man, Reid wasn't even away of the low, keening noise he was making. He was equally unaware of the cold sweat that had broken out all over his skin, leaving his shaking and weak. Lastly, he was also unaware of the bile that was threatening to erupt from his throat.

"I can't let you go," Rossi responded. "Not just yet."

The sensations overwhelmed Reid's mind. Frantically, he fought to get away from Rossi. He was no longer hearing or seeing the older agent. He was back inside the cabin. It was Doug, not Rossi, gripping him from behind. Imagines, feelings and smells assailed him. Unable to take it anymore, Reid's legs gave out, sending him crashing toward the carpeted floor. Rossi managed to keep the young genius from hurting himself further. In a heartbeat Reid was curled upon the ground in a fetal position, great gulping sobs keeping him on the verge of throwing up at any moment.

"Son of a bitch," Rossi hissed under his breath. The need to kill someone burned through his mind. Someone had to pay for the ruin they'd made of these two incredible men. Unsure of what else to do, Rossi sat on the floor behind Reid's back, his leg resting up against the boy's prominent back bone. He wanted Reid to know he was there but to not threaten him in anyway.

Feeling completely out of control, Reid rolled over, wrapped his arms around Rossi's trunk and pressed his face into the older agent's stomach. In the swirling, shifting world that was his mind, Reid needed desperately to hold onto something solid.

Carefully, Rossi cradled the hiccupping, sobbing young man and waited for the storm to abate. Just like Hotch in the next room, Reid needed to get it out, all the pain, the vileness, the evil that had been done to them before it poisoned the rest of their lives. His back propped up against a chair, Rossi settled in for the long haul. This was going to take as long as it needed to. He was prepared to wait.

OOOOO

By the time Hotch gained some semblance of control, the Unit Chief was so tired he couldn't even lay down, much less get undressed and under the sheets. His face was a mess, being covered with tears and snot from his running nose, but again, he just didn't have the energy to do anything about it.

Carefully, Morgan extracted himself from his boss. Pulling the covers back, he helped Hotch lay down on the bottom sheet. He paused long enough to remove Hotch's shoes, socks and his jacket before pulling the blankets up and over him. The last thing he did before heading toward the attached bathroom was to remove Hotch's tie and unbutton the top four buttons of his dress shirt. Even coming from the hospital Hotch had insisted on wearing his 'uniform'. By the time Morgan returned with a wet face cloth and a towel, Hotch was virtually beyond caring.

As tenderly as he could manage, Morgan washed his boss's face and throat before towelling his skin dry. Hotch had lost the battle to stay awake and was sound asleep by the time Morgan was done. Emotionally exhausted, the younger agent tossed the laundry in the general direction of the hamper. Then he sank wearily into the chair beside Hotch's bed. Within three minutes, Morgan was sound asleep, adding his slow, even breathing to his boss's.

Not too long after, a similar scene played out in Reid's room as Rossi helped the younger man into bed and got him settled. He too took a position in the nearby chair. Just in case Reid needed anything in the night, Rossi intended to be there, for the first few nights anyway.

OOOOO

"What do we do now?" J.J. asked. Morgan and Rossi were still in the bedrooms with Hotch and Reid. From the sounds of things, it hadn't gone particularly well for any of them. Jared and Dave were fighting the need to go check on the two agents. It was time to start letting go. Hotch and Reid were with their friends and colleagues, their family. But, the brothers knew that wasn't going to happen any time soon. Hotch and Reid had become part of their family too. That meant they would always be part of the brothers' world.

"Well, let's start working on supper," Penelope stated. She for one had no intentions of leaving early.

"I have a better idea," Emily said, a mischievous grin on her face. "Let's go check out the pool."

Within half an hour there was a festive atmosphere around the indoor pool. The female agents had found bathing suits in the change room while Jared and Dave had found beer in the fridge. The panty revealed itself to be well stocked as well. Pretty soon they were having a pool party.

While it seemed a little incongruous with what had happened earlier, it was also the best medicine. Dave and Jared joined the women in the pool. While the agents weren't sure if the bounty hunters were wearing swim suits or underwear it really didn't matter. Now that they were all together again, a team, the agents were in the mood to celebrate. Reality would rear its ugly head all too soon.

OOOOO

The trials began. Since Hotch and Reid were on leave until they were certified as being one hundred percent recovered, they'd made an unspoken pact to attend every painful minute of it. The first time Mary was led into the court room for the arraignment, Reid went stiff as a board, his eyes suddenly fascinated with the intricate pattern his nervous fingers were making on his leg.

Seeing the younger man's response out of the corner of his eye, Hotch reached over and gently but firmly placed his nearest hand over both of his subordinates.

"Don't give her the satisfaction," Hotch said in a lowered voice. On the other side of Reid, Jared and Dave were outright glaring at the woman. If it wasn't worth going to jail over, they would have dove over the people separating them and kill her.

Taking a deep breath, Reid lifted his eyes up and stared a hole into the back of the woman's head. After pleading 'not guilty' to all counts, Mary was remanded to custody and the judge moved onto the next case. Officers lead her away in her prison jump suit and chains. Mary paused when she reached the bench the agents and bounty hunters were sitting on. A vicious smile split her pale lips as she looked down at Hotch and Reid, who were watching her warily.

"Do you miss me?" Mary asked as she puckered up her lips and blew a kiss at the two men.

"Enough," Mary's guard growled as he pulled her down the aisle.

Standing up, Reid leaning on a cane, the four men made their way out of the court room.

"She really is vile, isn't she?" Jared stated as he watched Mary being led away through the crowded hallway.

"Yes, she is," Hotch responded. Turning to the three younger men, he added. "And not worth the time to dwell on. Let's go home."

OOOOO

It took seven months, thanks to Mary's lawyer's continued stalling, before they were actually ready for the trial. Mary had chosen a trial by jury. As a result, her lawyer had brought her civilian clothes to wear instead of her prison garb. The agents and bounty hunters were running late so Mary and her attorney were all ready seated at the defendant's table when they were making their way to the only four seats available that were together. It was opening arguments, the four of them, as plaintiffs were able to be in the room for those but once testimony began they'd have to leave.

"All rise," the bailiff said as the judge entered the room. As Hotch watched, Mary seemed to have problems getting up from her chair. She moved stiffly, awkwardly. Secretly, Hotch hoped she'd been jumped in the yard or otherwise injured during her stay in jail.

The bailiff went through the required procedure. Then they were all allowed to resume their seats. By now Reid didn't need the cane anymore and Hotch was completely healed except for some ugly scars. Most days, the Unit Chief forgot about them, they'd become a non-issue. He supposed if he'd ever became intimate with a woman again he'd have some explaining to do but that didn't seem likely any time soon. Again, it was a non-issue.

The opening statements were pretty much what Hotch had expected. Mary's lawyer insisted that all that had happened had been consensual acts. After all, how could she possibly overpower two highly trained FBI agents all by herself? By the time it was the prosecutor's turn they were all ready to jump across the distance between them and strangle the woman. The prosecutor, of course, painted a very different picture.

It was a long and arduous day for all of them. Once the opening arguments were heard, a bailiff escorted the four of them out of the room so that the first witness could be called was Hotch. While he testified, Reid paced ceaselessly in the hallway. Jared and Dave became exhausted just watching him.

"Will you please sit down?" Jared finally asked. Reid had been pacing so much that he'd begun to limp. Despite all the healing that had occurred over the last several months, whenever Reid spent an extraordinary amount of time on his feet, his hip would start to ache. It also reacted to changes in the weather, which irritated the hell out of the profiler.

"I can't stand the thought of Hotch being that close to her," Reid grumbled as he continued. He was deliberately ignoring the fact that soon enough he'd be that close to her too. All of them would be.

"He's a big boy, he can take care of himself," Dave responded. Standing up, he caught hold of Reid's shoulders on his way by and physically forced him to sit.

"He didn't the last two times they met," Reid grated. Again he chose to not consider that the same had happened to him as well.

Before the conversation could continue, something down the hall caught Reid's attention. Dumbstruck, he stared as Rachel came toward him. She looked good, especially since she wasn't being escorted. The woman had served her time and was now on probation. The defence had had the balls to call her as a witness.

"Hello," Rachel said as she came up. Automatically she held out her right hand in greeting. Like a robot, Reid took the proffered hand and absently shook it. Under her fingers, Rachel could feel the rough tissue over his knuckles that were Reid's legacy from hitting the wall.

"What happened?" The question slid out before Rachel had had a chance to consider the stupidity of it. What hadn't happened to the young man?

"Ah," Reid started, suddenly shy.

"He had a bit of a meltdown and punched a wall, repeatedly," Jared supplied for the tongue-tied young genius. He didn't really remember the woman all that well from his time in the caves. But she had a very familiar presence that instantly put him at ease. For his part, Dave still held a grudge. He knew that none of it would have happened if she hadn't taken Matt to begin with.

Still holding onto Reid's hand, Rachel ran her fingers over the scars. She was staring at the hand and not the man attached to it. Something wet hit their linked appendages. It only took a moment for Reid to recognize it as a tear.

"I'm so very sorry that any of this happened," Rachel said quietly, her voice nearly swallowed whole in the cacophony in the hallway. "It's all my fault."

"You need to forgive yourself," Reid stated. He'd learned a great deal about the art of forgiving oneself. It wasn't easy to do but it was absolutely necessary. "We all ready have."

Turning liquid brown eyes up to the younger man's face, Rachel paused for a split-second and then Reid found himself enveloped in a huge bear hug.

"Thank you," Rachel said, her voice muffled by the taller man's shoulder. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

The door to the court room opened and Hotch stepped out followed immediately by the bailiff.

"Rachel Dunn?" the court officer asked, looking at the woman as she stepped back from Reid.

"That's me," Rachel replied. With a brilliant smile for Reid, Jared and Dave, she turned to follow the man through the heavy wooden doors. On her way by Hotch, Rachel reached out, caught hold of his nearest arm and squeezed it. Then she was inside.

"Well?" Jared asked, looking at the pale and visibly, to them anyway, shaken Hotch. "How did it go?"

"It was bad," Hotch admitted as he stepped by the three men and sank down onto the bench. The one thing he was grateful for was that the rest of his team was gone on a case so he didn't have to relive all the terror with them watching. "But we survived it when it happened. We can certainly relive the memories. After all, they can't hurt us anymore."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Dave replied, only half kidding. He still woke up some nights feeling an unwanted hand touching him in places he didn't want to be touched. The worst dreams, though, were when he was forced to perform oral sex on a man. He still woke up swallowing bile after those ones.

"I'm sure," Hotch stated. "As bad as it seems in there, the hard part's over."

"I hope you're right," Jared responded as he joined the older man on the bench.

Two months back they'd moved out of the safe house. It was time. They were all as healed as they were going to get and were ready to get on with their lives. Hotch and Reid moved back to their respective apartments while the brothers had begun to take bounties again. More often than not, though, they'd wind up at Reid's front door looking for a place to spend the night. Reid knew that they did well enough at their job that they could easily afford to stay at a hotel. They were just checking up on her. He appreciated the gesture and the company. Now that the trial had started, the brothers planned to live with him until it was over.

OOOOO

Rachel's testimony took the rest of the day. With it being Friday, the judge adjourned them until 9 am on Monday. Accepting the information from the bailiff, the four men stood up to leave just as Mary was being led out. It was the first time any of them had seen the woman from the front. Hotch felt his world drop from under his feet.

"Congratulations," Mary purred as the officers tried to hustle her down the hallway. "You're going to be a daddy."

The bulge around Mary's midsection was all too obvious now that she wasn't sitting behind a table. Mary was most definitely pregnant.

_**A/N: Hi. Yeah, I'm a terrible person. This is where this entire story has been leading all year. Don't worry, I'll deal with it. **_

_**I'm terribly sorry it's taken me so long to get this updated. There's an illness in my family and I'm finding it really hard to concentrate long enough to write. I hope it won't take this long to write the next chapter, which will probably be the last one. I think. As you can tell, this story won't leave me alone so we'll have to see how many more chapters come up.**_

_**Thank you so very much for everyone who has taken the time to review this story. Also, I'd like to thank everyone who's put the story under their favourites or story alerts. It really helps knowing that readers are waiting out there!**_

_**Bye for now.**_

_**Susanne**_


	18. Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Stunned speechless, all Hotch could do was watch Mary head down the hall, the sound of laughter floating back to the small group.

"How is that possible?" Jared asked. Mary had definitely singled Hotch out when she'd said her little speech but from the Unit Chief's reaction he was just as shocked as they were.

"I'm so sorry," the prosecuting attorney said. He'd tried to get outside first to warn the agent but had been unsuccessful. "I had absolutely no idea. Is it even remotely possible that you're the father?"

Memories played through Hotch's mind as he sank back down onto the bench. Terrible things. Periods where he couldn't recall anything. "Yeah," Hotch admitted, his head coming down to rest in his hands.

Suddenly, Hotch bolted to his feet. Frantically, he rushed to the men's room. Trying to keep up despite the throng of people, Reid entered the door to the echoing sounds of retching. Hot was kneeling in a stall, helplessly emptying his stomach of everything he'd eaten in the last month. Dave and Jared came up behind Reid.

"Stay with him," Spencer said. Leaving the washroom, he pulled his cell phone off his hip and pushed speed dial. Within three rings he heard Rossi's familiar voice.

"How did it go?" David Rossi asked. The team was in the middle of a case in New York. At the moment he was neck deep in old case files and appreciated the interruption.

"It's bad," Reid managed as he slid down the wall beside the washroom door. "Mary's pregnant. She says Hotch is the father."

A long silence followed Reid's statement. He was considering repeating himself, if he could get the words out again when SSA Rossi finally spoke. "How is he?"

"He's in the court house washroom throwing up," Reid admitted. At this point neither one of them had any secrets from the older man. He'd replaced Dr. Heinz as their sympathetic ear and fountain of sage advice.

"I'll be there as soon as I can. Where are you going to take him?" Rossi snapped his fingers to get Morgan and Emily's attention. The three of them were trying to come up with an accurate profile of an unsub that had all ready killed and mutilated four middle aged, middle class women.

Reid thought for a moment. The washroom door opened and Jared and Dave came out leading a stumbling, pale Hotch between them. "My apartment. The elevator's fixed."

"I'll meet you there ASAP."

As the three men tried to lead Hotch toward the entrance the prosecutor caught up with them. "I'll subpoena a DNA sample to make sure you're the father. Then we'll go from there," he said. With one more worried look at Hotch, he strode off down the hall.

OOOOO

The four men virtually stumbled into Reid's apartment door, looking somewhat like a Three Stooges movie. Reid wound up at the top of the pile while Hotch was at the bottom.

"I'm fine," Hotch growled as he extracted himself from the pile. Wearily, the Unit chief made his way over to Reid's living room and the couch and sank gratefully into it. Once he recovered from the shock of realizing that at some point Mary had had sex with him too and he'd responded, Hotch had immediately began to make plans. Irregardless of who was the father, there was no way in hell Hotch was going to leave the child with Mary. Her actions had all ready made it clear that she was mentally unstable.

With some trepidation, Reid, Dave and Jared stepped into the room to find Hotch sitting on the couch staring blindly at the floor, obviously deep in thought. None of them wanted to bother him. Soundlessly, the trio made as if to leave when Hotch came back to himself with a physical effort and turned his intense brown eyes on them.

"I'm fine," Hotch repeated.

"It's okay if you're not, you know," Jared stated as he took a step toward the older man. "I sure as hell couldn't be if she'd said I was the father."

"I'm fine," Hotch repeated. He wasn't ready to discuss this. With anyone, even these three. "I'd like to go home now."

"That's not going to happen," Dave said. There was no way in hell he was leaving Hotch alone to stew with his thoughts. He knew the older man well enough to see that hazards of that situation. Hotch tended to think too much, especially of late. The bounty hunter figured it was likely a problem they were all going to have to live with for a while. At least until the multiple trials were over. "What do you want for supper?"

With a weary sigh that come from his toes, Hotch gave in. He'd seen that look of determination in the younger man's eyes before. There was no way to talk him out of it, even for a professional profiler. "Anything fast." After all the time in the washroom at the court house, Hotch had to admit that he was starving.

"I can do fast," Jared responded as he headed for the kitchen. Last night, after court, the three of them had stopped at the market and stocked up. Reid wasn't much for cooking and had had little in his cupboards. Within minutes, he had something, several somethings on the go.

Casually, Reid took a position beside his boss. "Are you really all right?" Spencer asked in a quiet voice. He knew he was still reeling with shock over the news but he also was able to distance himself somewhat from it. After all, Mary hadn't said he was the father.

Continuing to stare at the floor as thoughts crashed through his mind, Hotch sighed again. "No," the Unit Chief admitted. "But I'm also not ready to talk about it either."

"I'm not sure that's going to be an option," Reid stated, feeling a little sheepish. "I called Rossi while you were in the washroom."

"He's with the others on the case in New York," Hotch responded. One part of him felt a twinge of relief that the older man knew what had happened. Mostly, though, he was angry that Reid had interrupted the unit's work for something so trivial. "You shouldn't have disturbed him."

"I've never seen you like that before, Hotch. I didn't know what to do. Rossi is on his way here," Reid stated, feeling rather miserable. Seeing strong, calm Hotch like that had shaken the young genius to the core of his being. "It seemed like the best course of action."

Sighing heavily for the third time, Hotch drew his eyes up to the younger man's gaunt face. Even after all this time, they'd been unable to get any more meat on Reid's bones. He suspected that would be the case until well after all the trials were over. Right now the young genius used up every calorie he consumed just by fidgeting. "I understand," the Unit Chief stated. "I probably would have done the same thing if our roles had been reversed."

Even though Reid knew Hotch was just telling him what he wanted to hear, the words gave him comfort. Settling back into his couch, Reid was surprised at just how comfortable it really was. In all the time he'd had the piece of furniture, he couldn't remember really noticing.

Less than an hour later, the four men were gathered around Reid's small dining table. They'd used it more in the last few months that Reid had ever used it. Jared and Dave couldn't decide on what to cook and so had made several different things. It resulted in an odd variety of foods, including potatoes, peas, pasta and two kinds of meats and salads.

"Dig in," Jared instructed.

Part way through the meal, they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Before anyone had a chance to stand up, the door opened and Rossi stuck his head inside. "Hello," the senior profiler called out quietly as the rest of his body followed through the portal.

Still embarrassed by Reid calling for reinforcements, Hotch had a hard time looking at David Rossi as he dropped his bags by the door and headed towards them. As the older man walked, Hotch could feel his too observant eyes scrutinizing him like he was an Unsub. He didn't particularly enjoy the sensation.

"Are you hungry?" Jared asked as he stood up to head for the kitchen to get another plate.

"Starving," Rossi stated as he took in the food. An eclectic mixture but it still smelled really good, especially after the food on the commercial flight he'd had to take to get here. As casually as he could manage, Rossi settled into a chair that Dave had brought over for him. "So, what did I miss?"

OOOOO

Monday came all too soon. As Hotch settled into the gallery at the court house, he looked at the defence table. Now that he'd given his testimony, he was allowed to sit with the rest of the gallery and see and hear the rest of the people testify. He felt badly that the others were still stuck out in the hallway but he needed to be here to see Mary's reaction to the wheels he'd set in motion.

Impatiently, the Unit Chief sat on the bench and waited. So far the prosecution were all at their table but the defence and Mary had yet to arrive. While he concentrated on not appearing to anxious, Hotch was only vaguely aware of four people sliding past him to sit on the other side of him. That is, until he felt an unasked for had gently settle on his left knee.

Barely manage to keep from jumping, Hotch turned to the person beside him only to find that it was J.J. Beyond her he saw Rossi, Emily and Garcia. While he was happy to see them, to know that they'd completed yet another case, it also unnerved him to know that they were going to find out the intimate details of the hell he and the others had lived through.

"What are you doing here?" Hotch asked, his voice low. Inwardly he cringed at the tone he'd taken. They were just trying to help, to support Reid and himself.

"Come on, Hotch. You knew we wouldn't let you go through this alone," Rossi responded on the other side of J.J. "Especially now."

Before Hotch had a chance to respond to that, the defence lawyer burst into the room and rushed to his table. He'd made it just in time, a moment later the bailiff was announcing the arrival of the judge.

As the judge took his seat, he glanced over at the defence table and stopped abruptly in shuffling his papers. "Counsellor, where is your client?" he asked.

"Ah," the defence lawyer started, as he glanced over at Hotch behind him. "She's in the hospital."

"Why wasn't I briefed about this?" the judge demanded.

"It just happened this morning about 5am, your honour," the lawyer stated.

"What happened?" the judge demanded. He was getting annoyed with the lawyer's half answers.

"Ah," the lawyer said, trying to figure out how to put what he had to say in the best possible light.

"Enough with the dramatics, just tell me what's going on with your client," the judge pressed. "Or I'm going to throw you in jail for contempt of court."

"I informed Miss West of SSA Hotcher's intent to file for a paternity test of her child, as well as the petition his lawyer filed to have her child removed from her custody once it's born. She took the news hard and tried to terminate the pregnancy herself in her cell this morning. The doctor at the prison had her transferred to a facility that was better equipped to help her and the baby," the lawyer said.

Hotch felt like he'd been kicked in the stomach. For the second time in four days, Mary West had managed to take his world and turn it upside down. He could feel the eyes of his team turned in his direction as the words sank in.

"What is your client's status and that of the fetus?" the judge asked as he too glanced in the direction of the BAU Unit Chief. He'd been advised of all the drama that had unfolded after court on Friday and the subsequent court actions Hotch had begun. He knew of Mary's claim that SSA Hotchner had fathered her child.

"They are doing everything they can for Miss West. Her child is premature and suffered some minor injuries but was delivered by caesarean section within the last hour. The last update I had was that the child is doing well," the lawyer said.

For the first time since the lawyer had disclosed Mary's actions, Hotch felt like he could breathe again. He desperately wanted to know if the child was a boy or a girl but it wasn't his place to ask. He would just have to wait until after court was over for the day to find out for himself.

"Do we need to have a continuance until after Miss West is well enough to face her accusers?" the judge asked. Whether it was procedure or not, he wanted to end this as soon as possible for the agents and other victims involved. He knew how awful this was for them and wanted to minimize the trauma as much as possible.

"No sir, she's asked for the trial to continue," the lawyer stated.

"Good. Call your first witness."

_**A/N: Hi. I don't know if this is actually how the justice system works but it is in my world. *grin***_

_**Thank you so much for your patience. I am trying to get this done as soon as I can but it's so much easier to stare at the TV and not think about anything. The joys of avoiding reality. Anyway, I do plan on finishing this soon. But, as always, it's taken on a life of its own. Maybe one or two more chapters? Will have to wait and see what happens. **_

_**Thank you so very much for all the kind reviews. I love hearing from you! It brings a smile each and every time I see an alert. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to let me know if this is crap or if it stays in character. It's how I learn to write better after all.**_

_**Take care and I hope you enjoy the new chapter.**_

_**Susanne**_


	19. Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The trial proceeded but Hotch was only vaguely aware of it. In front of his eyes images of what had happened to him, Reid, Rachel and the others played through his mind. The things he'd experienced since being kidnapped by Mary the first time followed, bringing bile to the back of his throat. Swallowing quickly, Hotch tried to concentrate as Reid was called to testify. He knew his subordinate needed him to be here, to be listening and encouraging him but his mind wouldn't cooperate.

There was a baby in a hospital whose mother had tried to abort it. That somehow didn't add up. He knew Mary was unstable and that it really shouldn't have shocked him as badly as it was. The analytical part of the Unit Chief's mind rationalized that the child could be a part of him and the fact that she'd tried to kill that was beyond comprehension.

While Spencer testified, he kept glancing at Hotch in the gallery. He could see just how distracted his boss was. It made testifying difficult because the young genius kept trying to figure out what could have happened to further unnerve his boss. He knew from the expressions of his unit members that it was something grave and Mary's absence probably had a great deal to do with it.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Reid was allowed to step down from the stand. He was relieved to see Morgan step into the courtroom and slide in beside Emily. The older agent had stayed outside with Reid when the others had arrived. He hadn't wanted the young genius to sit alone even though Jared and Dave were there as well. Even after all this time, Morgan had a hard time considering the bounty hunters as being capable of protecting his associate.

For his own sanity, Morgan had chosen to stay outside when Reid sent in. He knew he would want to beat Mary to a pulp if he heard Reid describe the atrocities the woman had committed in his own voice. It had been hard enough to read in the police reports. Now that he'd heard the bailiff call for Jared, he walked in.

Just climbing off the witness stand, Reid appeared pale and shaky. Morgan wanted to help him to a seat but knew the younger man probably wouldn't appreciate it a whole lot. Instead, he moved down the bench Hotch and the others were sitting on and made room for the young genius between him and Emily.

As soon as Reid was situated, he turned to the dark haired woman beside him and whispered, "What happened?"

"Mary tried to abort the baby. They're both in the hospital," Emily whispered back, being very careful to not have Hotch overhear her. A quick glance at her boss and she knew he was all ready tormented with thoughts of what Mary had done.

"Oh," Reid responded. He wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he chose a non-response.

"She truly is evil, isn't she?" Morgan responded. He knew that there really wasn't such a thing as evil, just right and wrong. The Unit spent far too much time delving into the minds of serial killers, pedophiles and other forms of twisted human minds to believe that there was anything else. If they started thinking about the devil and other forms of creatures, they would probably lose their own minds trying to understand it all.

They were forced to suspend their conversation as Jared began to recount his experiences with Mary.

OOOOO

The rest of the day was a blur for Hotch and the others. Following Jared, Matt was called in. The young man looked well and was strong and decisive in his testimony. He was clearly relieved that he didn't have to actually face the vile woman. By the time Matt recounted what little he could actually remember, the day was done.

Noisily, the members of the gallery began to file out of the room. Coming out of his daze, Hotch stood up and followed. Once he was outside the doors, the Unit Chief felt Rossi catch his arm and pull him off to the side of the corridor.

"What are your plans for the evening?" the older agent asked conversationally. He didn't want Hotch to be alone. He'd seen enough in Reid's apartment on Friday night to know that his friend's hold on his rational mind was becoming a little tenuous.

"I'm going home," Hotch responded automatically. To be honest, he wasn't entirely sure what his plans were. He hadn't taken enough time to figure that out yet.

"Would you like to join me for supper first?" Rossi pressed. The others had gathered around the duo. Hotch could tell that none of them wanted to leave him alone and he hated it. At this moment, being alone was all that he really wanted.

"No, I'm not hungry," Hotch said as he gently shook loose of Rossi's grip and turned to head down the corridor.

"We shouldn't leave him alone," Morgan stated as he watched the retreating back of his boss. For the first time he noticed that Hotch's back was no longer perfectly straight, that he'd developed a slight hunch, as if he were no longer staring straight ahead but at his feet while he walked. The change increased his level of concern.

"We can't be there all the time. He needs to sort things out for himself," Rossi stated as he headed toward his own car. Slowly, the others scattered, Reid, Jared and Dave being the only ones who'd come together.

OOOOO

The evening had been spent wandering aimlessly through the streets of the city. Hotch still wasn't hungry. He wasn't sure if he ever would be again. He walked with his head down, his mind hashing and rehashing everything.

Right foot, left foot, one after the other with no thought behind them. Hotch continued to plod along. He was oblivious of the streets around him, of the people making their way home for the night. He was oblivious of the landscape around him, of the buildings turning to a park, of the park turning back to buildings.

Hotch was somewhat surprised, then, to find that he was no longer walking on the cement of sidewalks or roads. He was now on tiled floors. Looking up, he saw the reception desk of a hospital in front of him. Somehow, in all his wandering, his subconscious mind had brought him to the hospital where Mary and the baby were admitted. He'd heard the defence lawyer tell the prosecutor that they were in the Potomac Hospital.

"May I help you, sir?" one of the receptionists at the desk asked. The man standing in front of her in the perfectly tailored suit seemed very lost.

"Uh, no," Hotch responded. Without a second look at the receptionist, he looked at the information board and located the nursery. He had to know.

Riding the elevator up to the designated floor, Hotch tried to still his nerves. Chances were very good that he wouldn't be able to tell if the child was his. But, he still had to know.

Stepping out of the elevator, Hotch followed the signs, his feet feeling laden, as if he were walking through setting concrete. Before he gained entrance to the nursery and the viewing window, he had to flash his credentials at the security guard protecting the area. Too many children had been abducted around the country for them to take any chances.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Hotch moved to the large window along the right hand wall and looked beyond. The nursery was full. It took the FBI agent a few moments to notice the place cards in front of each bassinette, it took him a few more moments to stop looking for Hotchner and look for West as the last name. Then he saw it.

Off to the side, in an incubator that was being monitored, was the name plate he was looking for. It said mother's name 'Mary West'. Craning his neck, Hotch tried to get a good view of the small bundle inside. No such luck. Just as he was going to give up, a nurse glanced up and saw him. Smiling, she nodded to the incubator and then motioned him to come around to the door.

"You'll have to put on a gown and mask but you can see the child if you'd like," the nurse stated when they met at the entrance to the nursery. "Your lawyer has asked for and been granted permission for you to see the baby."

"How do you know who I am?" Hotch asked, feeling a little unsteady as he struggled to get into the hospital gown. His head was trying to start spinning on him. Pushing the weakness away, he finished getting ready and allowed the nurse to lead him toward the glass house the baby was in.

"I just had a feeling it was you," the nurse stated, a slight smile on her lips. Opening the door to the nursery, the sounds of soft snores, gentle cries and occasional whimpers filled his ears. The other babies were sleeping peacefully, fitfully or not at all but the nurse didn't appear to be overly concerned. Stepping up to the incubator, she motioned Hotch to move closer. He'd unconsciously stopped just short of being able to look inside. "It's okay, she doesn't bite."

"She?" Hotch parroted. Suddenly anxious, he covered the distance in a heartbeat and gazed down at the tranquil face of the child.

It felt like the world dropped out from under Hotch's feet. He was staring at a beautiful face that had his eye brows and his lips. The child was his. Taking a steadying breath, Hotch tried to process the information. He barely even noticed all the tubes and wires attached to the small frame as the baby's vital signs were monitored.

"Her eyes are brown," the nurse stated. "Usually babies eyes are blue when they're first born and then they transition to their permanent colour but hers are already brown."

More confirmation. Tearing his eyes from the angelic face of the sleeping child, Hotch turned his attention to the rest of her. She had ten fingers and ten toes. She was much smaller than Jack had ever been and seemed to barely fit the tiny diaper they had on her. The only thing the baby was wearing was the diaper. It made the bandages covering sections of the baby's legs that much more obvious.

"Is she all right?" Hotch asked, suddenly concerned. He remembered the defence lawyer saying that Mary had tried to abort the baby. The method was a mystery but obviously the child hadn't come out of the attempt uninjured.

"Yes. She's premature but perfectly healthy. The mother caused lacerations on her legs when she was trying to break the membrane. If the guards hadn't been paying attention, the baby's injuries would have been much worse," the nurse stated. The woman wore a name tag but Hotch hadn't taken the time to read it until now.

"Thank you Nurse Evans," Aaron said as he continued to gaze at the child. Every breath seemed to take an incredible amount of energy, the child's sides and stomach heaving, but the rhythm was steady and deep.

"You're welcome. I'll just leave you with her for a few moments while I prepare a bottle. Would you like to feed it to her?" Nurse Evans asked as she headed toward the kitchen area a few feet away.

The thought of touching the tiny creature both appalled and thrilled him. Hotch looked at the woman for a moment, trying to decide. Looking back down at the baby, he saw that she was beginning to stir. Her tiny hands clenched and unclenched and then began to wave wildly in the air. The room was filled with the sounds of tiny cries as the baby's discomfort finally registered.

"Have you ever fed a baby before?" the nurse asked as she rejoined Hotch by the incubator, an impossibly small bottle in one hand.

"Yes, I have a son," Hotch responded automatically.

"I'd really appreciate the help if you don't mind," the nurse said. "I have four other babies to feed in the next half hour. When they're this young they don't always suckle properly."

"I remember," Hotch stated. Memories of Jack and the problems they'd had with him when he was first born played through the Unit Chief's mind. Accepting the bottle, he looked at the incubator for a moment. How the hell was he supposed to get it in there?

"Here," the nurse suggested. Directing Hotch to a rocking chair at the head of the incubator, she waited for him to get settled before she carefully extracted the baby. Ms. West had shown no interest in the child at all. The nurses had been the only people the baby had interacted with so it was good that her father was at least showing an interest.

Feeling awkward and in awe at the same time, Hotch accepted the baby and carefully placed the nipple of the bottle between her open, toothless lips. It was difficult to hold her while her arms flew in circles and her tiny legs kicked at the air. As she began to suckle, her eyes opened for the first time. Even though he knew that babies didn't see well when they were first born, Hotch swore those brown orbs came to rest on his face. Settling down, now that she was being held and eating, the baby's eyes slowly slid shut and her hands and feet stopped flailing around.

Humming quietly, the nurse continued about her work, feeding and changing babies as necessary. Hotch was lost in his own world as he felt the gentle weight of the child in his arms and the complete trust that oozed from her very being. Instinctively, Hotch paused part way into the bottle and lifted the child up onto his shoulder and tapped her back to burp her. It felt all too damned natural.

It was a slow process but eventually the baby finished the bottle. The nurse took her back, changed her diaper and placed her back in the incubator.

"You can stay if you'd like," she said as she continued to move around the nursery. The story behind the baby was no secret in the hospital. The fact that the father had even shown up was astonishing to her. She was going to do everything she could to get him to take the baby instead of the alternatives.

"No," Hotch responded, suddenly feeling extremely tired. "Thank you."

Prying his exhausted body out of the chair, Hotch stood up and headed for the door leading into the area where the gowns and masks were donned. His hand on the door handle, he turned toward the nurse as a question occurred to him. "What's her name?"

"Jane," the nurse answered sadness evident in her voice. "The mother refuses to have anything to do with her. She hasn't even chosen a name yet."

Unsure how to respond to that in his current state, Hotch simply nodded his head in acknowledgement and left the room. Slowly he pulled off the mask and gown and dumped them in the appropriate bins. Running a hand through his close cropped hair, he stepped out of the small room out into the hallway. To get back to the elevators he had to pass by the nursery window. When he did, he couldn't help but stop to look at the incubator again.

Time passed. Hotch wasn't sure how much but it had to be a fair amount because he became aware of quiet foot steps behind him. Shaking himself out of his reverie, Hotch turned to leave only to find his team standing in the hallway. Rossi was in the lead, followed by the others. Stepping forward, he gazed into the window. "Where is it?" he asked. He still wasn't sure of the sex of the child. That hadn't really come up yet.

"In the incubator," Hotch responded as he turned as well and stepped back to the window, indicating the appropriate chamber. "It's a girl."

Since these were less than normal circumstances, Rossi didn't respond except to nod his head. He really couldn't see anything but he knew from the dazed state his boss was in that there was no question of the paternity of the child. The others had stepped forward too but mostly so they could be closer to Hotch.

"Is it yours?" Morgan asked. He knew the answer all ready but Hotch saying it out loud was necessary for the Unit Chief to begin dealing with the situation.

"Yes," Hotch said, running his hands over his face. "She's mine."

"How sure are you?" Reid asked. "The test results won't be available until tomorrow."

"She has my eyes and my mouth. I'm pretty sure," Hotch responded. Suddenly it became too much. Turning from the window, Hotch made as if to leave but he didn't get far. A few inches and he slid down the wall beside the window. His butt hitting the ground, Hotch drew his knees up, rested his elbows on them and covered his face with his hands. As hard as he tried to hide it, it was impossible as great heaving sobs began to rack his frame.

In an instant the others were there, sitting on the floor of the hospital corridor all around him, each resting a hand on him to lend their support. No words were said, none were needed. Rossi had sat on the floor beside Hotch and slipped his right arm over the younger man's heaving shoulders.

There was the sound of a door opening up beyond Hotch's crying. Then a woman dressed in scrubs walked into the hall, concern evident on her face. Seeing Hotch and the others, she gave a sad little smile and headed back into the nursery.

By the time the sobs subsided, Hotch was exhausted. It was a feeling he was becoming all too familiar with. Wearily wiping his face with the back of his hand, he tried unsuccessfully to pull away from his team's hands. At the moment he didn't want to be touched, in fact he wanted desperately to be alone. He needed time to digest what had just happened.

Right on the surface of his mind, Hotch also wanted to go back into the nursery and look at his daughter again. No matter how the child was conceived she was still a part of him. After separating from Haley, Hotch had thought the chances of having another child had gone with his wife. He found it very hard to digest and to figure out how he felt about it.

"Come on, we'll get you home," Rossi said as he pulled Hotch to his feet. The older agent tried not to notice as Hotch swayed slightly on his feet. The others joined them in an upright position. Reid was standing by the window. As casually as he could muster, the young genius tried to spy Hotch's child among the sleeping, crying babies. None looked familiar. But then, to him, all newborns looked pretty much the same.

"Thanks," Hotch breathed as he accepted Rossi's shoulder. At this point in his life, Hotch figured he didn't have any dignity to protect. Silently, the BAU headed to the elevator. All too soon it would be time to return to that hated court room. All of them needed to get some sleep before that. Nodding at the guard on the way by, Hotch allowed himself to be propelled forward. Rossi had a better idea of where the cars were parked anyway.

OOOOO

Sitting on the bench in the gallery of the court room, Hotch felt like he hadn't slept at all. Rubbing absently at the grainy feeling in his eyes, he turned his attention back to the defence table. Mary was back in her chair. She was sitting perfectly straight and staring straight in front of her. While she did appear a little pale, Hotch couldn't see any obvious signs of damage from her attempts to abort her child. His child.

Beside him, Hotch felt Reid's leg jiggling against his own. The kid had drank a little too much coffee before showing up and couldn't seem to sit still to save his life. The Winchester brothers were still out in the hallway, waiting for their turn to testify. The other members of the BAU, excluding J.J., Garcia and Emily, were also on the bench.

The judge entered the room. The bailiff called the court to order. Just as the judge was going to address the attorneys, Mary's attorney stood up.

"If it pleases the court, my client has decided to change her plea," the lawyer said. It was obvious from the expression on his face and the tone in his voice that he thought Mary was making a mistake.

"Is there a deal on the table?" the judge asked, glancing at the prosecutor.

"No, sir," the prosecuting attorney said as he stood up behind his desk. "This is the first I've heard about this."

The conversation continued as Hotch tried to concentrate on the words. He could tell from the degree of jiggling Reid's leg was doing, his young subordinate was just as shocked.

"What charges is she changing her plea on?" the judge asked.

"All of them, your honour. She doesn't want to go through any of this anymore. She's willing to take any penalty you give her," the defence attorney stated. He glanced down at Mary for a moment but she refused to look at him. She'd made up her mind. She never wanted to see these people ever again. If it meant going to jail, she was willing to do that.

"We will recess for half an hour," the judge stated as he stood up. "I want both attorneys in my chambers now."

OOOOO

Within an hour Mary's trial was over. She'd pleaded guilty to every charge placed before her. She didn't look at anyone but the wood in front of the judge's desk. She didn't respond at all as the judge sentenced her to twenty years in prison. At the end of the case, Mary allowed her guards to lead her out. She walked by Hotch at the end of the bench without acknowledging him.

"That was...weird," Reid managed. It all felt like a dream. How could it be over so soon?

"Weird doesn't quite cover it," Hotch responded as he stood and left the court room. As much as he was grateful that this trial was over, there were still more to come. Mary pleading guilty simply gave them a bit of reprieve. "Let's go to the office."

OOOOO

Hotch walked out of the court room. The hallway was crowded with people but there were two faces that he recognized among the sea of faces. Rachel and Deputy Cullen were walking toward him, confusion evident on their faces. Seeing Hotch, Reid and the others, they quickly came up to the small group.

"What's going on?" Rachel asked, looking intently at Hotch. Something was up. Deputy Cullen was here to testify and she'd come to give him any support he needed. Seeing everyone come out of the courtroom didn't make any sense.

"The trial is over," Hotch responded. Watching the duo carefully, he noticed an interaction between them that hadn't been there before. Rachel and Cullen were now a couple. He could tell that they cared a great deal for each other. An idea took root in his mind. "Mary's pled guilty to all charges. The judge sentenced her to twenty years."

"What?" Rachel breathed. It took every ounce of strength she possessed to keep from swooning like a weak woman. As unobtrusively as she could, she caught hold of Cullen's nearest arm and leaned on it to stay upright.

"Yeah," Hotch said, smiling at the woman. "This part is over."

_**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It didn't feel like it flowed, especially at the end. One more chapter, just to wrap things up and that'll be it. Thank you for staying with me. This took much longer than I've ever expected. And, quite honestly, I put Hotch and Reid through a lot more than I expected. That's the nature of the beast, it does what it wants to!**_

_**Thanks for taking the time to review. Finding a new review always makes my day so much better. At the moment it sounds like my Uncle is back in the hospital. Things aren't going to improve from here.**_

_**Bye for now.**_

_**Susanne**_


	20. Chapter 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

"What do we do now?" Rachel asked. It felt like her entire world had been turned upside down and shaken until all of the pieces were askew. She'd all ready planned on spending the next several days being at the trial. Once Cullen had finished testifying, they planned to sit together to watch the rest of the train wreck unfold.

"Well," Hotch said as he scanned the faces of his friends. "It's too early for a bar. Let's go get some coffee instead."

"That sounds like a plan. I'll call Garcia, J.J. and Emily. They'll want to join us as well," Morgan stated. He moved a few feet away and pulled his cell phone off of his belt.

"To be honest the bar sounds like a better idea," Reid said as his world swirled around him slightly too. "But coffee will definitely do."

"Lead the way," Dave suggested as he stepped out of Hotch's way. This was the BAU member's town, even after all the time he and his brother had spent here lately it was still pretty much a mystery to them.

OOOOO

The next two hours were spent drinking coffee and telling stories. Some of them Hotch wished had been left untold. But with the celebratory air that had taken over the gathering, even he was unwilling to pop the bubble.

The bounty hunter brothers regaled them with stories of their weirdest and most dangerous bounties. Most of what Dave had to say Hotch took with a grain of salt. While the escapades were probably plausible, they were still rather unbelievable.

During the entire time, Hotch watched Rachel and Cullen out of the corner of his eye. He could tell that they were very happy together, that the loneliness that had driven Rachel to kidnap Matt and begin this whole mess was completely gone. He was thankful for that. After all the horrible, lonely years of Rachel's life, she deserved to have some form of happiness.

"So," Reid said as he looked at Rachel. The story telling had wound down and Reid found that he knew very little about this woman who'd risked everything to protect them. "What are your plans now?"

"Um," Rachel said, suddenly looking very shy. "Beyond the trial I really hadn't made any plans."

"Are you working?" Hotch asked.

"No. Between the criminal record and the media attention no one will hire me. I can't blame them. I suppose if I was willing to leave home and move to L.A. or Miami I might be able to start over. I'm not willing to do that," Rachel responded.

"Moving might be a good idea," Morgan suggested. He knew all too well how a person's past could follow them like a relentless dog until they moved to someplace they could reinvent themselves.

"No. This is my home. I'll pay whatever penance the people there think is necessary. I'm not running away any more," Rachel said as she glanced at Cullen. Under the table of the coffee shop the group had wound up at, Hotch saw her hand seek out the deputy's. Almost desperately their fingers entwined.

Further discussion was interrupted by the ringing of Hotch's cell phone. Somewhat embarrassed, because he wasn't expecting any calls, Aaron pulled the ringing device out of his pocket, thumbed a button and held it to his ear.

"Hello?" Hotch said. He was in such a rush to silence the infernal thing that he hadn't taken the time to check the caller display. It was somewhat unnerving to realize he had no idea who was calling.

"Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner?" a male voice on the other end asked.

"Speaking," Hotch responded. The others had gone quiet. There was still noise in the coffee shop but it was more background than anything else.

"This is Alex Berger from the lab. I was running the DNA tests for Mary West's female child," the man stated rather emotionlessly. "I just wanted to let you know that you came back positive as the child's paternal donor."

A small gasp escaped from Hotch's mouth. He'd know the baby was his but now there was scientific proof. Thanks to Mary's black heart Hotch had a new person in the world he was responsible for. Suddenly remembering the phone in his hand, Hotch stuttered a thank you and good bye before disconnecting from the call.

"What was that?" Reid asked. He could tell from the shocked look on his boss's face what it had been about but he had to ask. Hotch would tell them if he was ready to talk about it or brush it off is he wasn't.

"The lab," Hotch said as he wiped a hand across his mouth. "The DNA tests came back. I'm the father."

"What are you talking about?" Rachel asked. She had a sneaky suspicion of what was going on but it was just that, a suspicion at this point.

"Ah," Hotch began as he tried to figure out where to start. Seeing his boss's discomfort, Reid stepped in.

"Mary was pregnant. She said Hotch was the father but we needed the tests to be sure. No one wanted to believe her. She tried to kill the baby on Friday," Reid stated matter of factly. He was afraid if he took the time to think about what he'd just said that he would be an emotional wreck.

"That's terrible!" Rachel breathed as she looked around at the faces turned toward her. The responsibility of Mary's actions came crashing down again. "How is that even possible?"

"We don't know," Morgan stated before Hotch had a chance to reply. "Hotch doesn't remember everything that happened or he could have been unconscious. There are so many possibilities."

"Where's the baby now? Is it okay?" Cullen asked as he waded into the conversation.

"She's premature and suffered some minor lacerations from Mary's attempt but she appears to be perfectly healthy otherwise," Hotch stated. His world had stopped spinning. Like Rachel, he wasn't going to run from his problems anymore. That time had come and gone.

"What are you going to do?" Rachel asked. Unconsciously she reached across the table and touched Hotch's hand. She couldn't imagine the anguish knowing that Mary had managed to rape him and produce a child with him was causing Hotch. Once again Rachel felt overwhelming guilt try to wash over her. If only. Angrily, she brushed the words away. Well, 'if' happened and they were all going to have to deal with the consequences. "You're not going to leave the child with her, are you?"

"No. I've all ready started the process of having the baby removed from Mary's custody. The fact that she pled guilty to all charges and will be spending so much time in prison will certainly help my case. Clearly the woman is an unfit mother. The fact that she tried to kill a nearly full term child also speaks volumes of her metal state," Hotch responded. He stared at the table top. It was easier to have this conversation with the inanimate object instead of the people around him.

"I kind of assumed all that," Rachel said, a slight sparkle in her eye. "What I'm asking is what are YOU going to do? Are you going to take the child in or put her in foster care or give her away to be adopted?"

"To be honest I haven't thought that far ahead. I was just trying to survive getting through the trial first," Hotch admitted.

"Where is she?" Rachel asked, her voice going soft.

"Potomac Hospital," Morgan informed her. "We were all thinking about going there and meeting her. The last time we were there we didn't quite get the chance."

Rachel considered asking questions to clarify Morgan's last comment but changed her mind. There were things she was sure the FBI members didn't want to share. "I'd really like to meet her too," Rachel said, glancing at Cullen.

"I don't know how much the nurse will appreciate all of us descending on her," Hotch hedged. He'd been thinking about going to see the baby too. Maybe around feeding time again?

"We'll take turns. By the way, has anyone decided on a name?" Reid asked. He'd stood up. The idea of meeting Hotch's daughter was far too appealing. He just hoped desperately that she didn't take after her mother too much.

"To be honest, I've never thought to ask," Hotch admitted as he too gained his feet. Unconsciously, he threw some bills on the table to pay for their coffees and headed for the front door. The need to check on his daughter was becoming overwhelming. At some level, Hotch wondered why he wasn't feeling the same level of need to see his son. But then, Jack had his mother to love him and take care of him, his daughter currently had no one.

"I think we're going to need a bigger car," Jared muttered as they all headed for the street. It was completely irrelevant as they'd all pretty much came by their own vehicles but it seemed to make sense at the time.

"No, that was a bigger boat but I don't think we have to worry about sharks anymore," Dave responded as he and his brother headed for their truck. Reid was right behind them for which Dave was grateful. He'd have had a hard time trying to find Potomac Hospital. "She's all ready been put in jail."

OOOOO

When the large group of people showed up at the security desk for the nursery, the guard on duty looked less than thrilled. Hotch and the others flashed their FBI credentials while the others hung back a little. "We're here to see Baby Jane West," Hotch said.

"Yeah, I figured that," the guard responded, looking at the group. "Just hold on and I'll see if it's okay with the nurse in charge. They might be in the middle of giving the baby a bath or something."

"Thank you," Hotch said as the guard reached for the phone.

In a matter of minutes Nurse Evans had the group settled into a visitor's room and carefully wheeled the baby in her incubator into the room. It was easier than trying to lead them in one or two of a time into the nursery. Besides, she figured the baby could do with a little more attention.

"I'll be back in half an hour," the nurse stated, looking at Hotch. "She'll be looking for a bottle by then. Would you like to give it to her?"

"Yes," Hotch breathed without stopping to think. He was staring at his daughter through the glass. The baby was sleeping soundly. Looking at her again, Hotch saw even more similarities. He wasn't sure if that was because he knew the results of the tests or because she really did look more like her father. At the moment he didn't really care.

Silently, Morgan, Reid, Rossi and J.J. crowded around the incubator. The others were hanging back some simply because there wasn't enough room for all of them. Standing at the back of the room, Rachel craned her neck, hoping to see, while Cullen slipped an arm across her back. They'd only just begun 'seeing' each other after being close friends since the caves. He wasn't entirely sure how far they would go but he knew he really cared for the woman and he would do anything to make her happy. He'd seen her with her great niece. The little girl was the only baby Rachel really enjoyed spending time with but she was deeply devoted to the child. There was nothing Rachel wouldn't do to keep her happy and safe. He knew intuitively that that maternal sense would pass on to any children Rachel chose to have of her own. The only thing he wasn't so sure of was that Rachel was in her 40's, they both were. How much time did they have left for having children?

"She's beautiful," J.J. said as she gazed at the sleeping child. She could see some resemblance to the baby's mother but luckily for them, she'd taken very strongly after her dad. J.J. had to squash the image of Hotch in drag. It was weird to think of a woman with her boss's features. Hotch was handsome so that should extend to the child even if she was female. J.J. hoped it would anyway.

"She's a baby," Reid stated looking critically at the child. "They all look too small, wrinkly and like voodoo dolls to me."

"She does not!" Garcia growled. She'd managed to squirm her way in front of the taller men and was gazing down on the child as well. "She looks just like her daddy."

The word hit Hotch like a slap to the face. 'Daddy'. He really was a father again. The thought of taking care of the child on his own, given his work schedule was mind boggling. Even if he took in a nanny, the caregiver would be spending all of his/her time with the child while Hotch ran around the country finding the bad guys. Nervously, he wiped a hand over his mouth. It was becoming a nervous tick. Suddenly aware of it, Hotch forced his arm down. The last thing he needed was to show signs of weakness.

There was a gentle knock on the door to the visitor room. Then the door came open and a woman grasping a clip board to her chest stepped inside. She glanced at all the people in the room until her eyes came to land on Hotch. "SSA Hotchner?" she asked as she stepped forward.

"Yes," Hotch responded, tearing his eyes away from the sleeping baby.

"I'm Susan Franklin. I am the social worker for the hospital. I understand that you have filed with the courts to have this child's mother declared incompetent and that you are her father?" the woman asked.

"Yes," Hotch repeated. He wasn't sure he liked where all of this was going.

"I need your signature on these release forms to allow us to continue the medical care on the child. Without your signature we will be unable to administer medicine or any other form of medical attention," Susan stated. She held out the sheets of paper on the clip board for Hotch to read. "Do you plan on taking custody of the child after she is released from the hospital?"

Mutely, Hotch accepted the paperwork and skimmed it with his lawyer's mind. Everything was in order. Quickly, he signed and dated the appropriate boxes.

"I haven't made that decision yet," Hotch stated. Glancing at the papers again, he noticed the box asking for the child's name.

"What are you going to name her?" Ms. Franklin asked, looking at Hotch. "The mother has refused to do that so it falls to you."

Helplessly, Hotch turned to the others. He and Haley had picked out several girls' names when they were first pregnant with Jack but none of them seemed appropriate for this child. Seeing the desperation in her boss's eyes, J.J. stepped forward. "I think 'Hope' would be a good name for her," she said.

Stunned by the name, Hotch digested it for a moment. Yes, it was very appropriate. He knew he had great hopes for the child, mostly that she wouldn't come under her mother's influence but there were also other hopes he had for her.

"That's a little obvious don't you think?" Reid asked as he looked around at the others. He had no experience with naming things. He hadn't even had a cat to pick a name for but still, it seemed the child deserved better.

"No, I think it's perfect," Hotch replied. "Hope Elizabeth Hotchner. That's what her name is." Looking down at the paperwork, he filled out the appropriate boxes. At least now she had a name. From here the rest would be easy, maybe.

OOOOO

The next few days fell into a routine. Hotch worked in his office during the day and spent most of his evenings at the hospital with Hope. He knew it wasn't possible but now that the child had a name she seemed to be thriving so much more. The doctors were even considering taking her out of the incubator. This news thrilled him while sending a spine of fear through his mind. If they took Hope out of the incubator it meant she was closer to coming home. Hotch just wasn't sure where the home would be.

It never failed that when Hotch sat down to feed Hope her evening bottle that one or more of his team would show up. Serial killings had been slow this week, none of them had been called out of town but Hotch knew that wouldn't last for long. He really hated the idea of no one but the nurse being there to feed Hope. She needed to be touched, to be loved. Ultimately it would make all the difference in what kind of person she turned out to be.

Every night Hotch went back to his apartment and walked around it. There really wasn't enough room for Hope. He had a room for Jack for when he slept over, which wasn't nearly often enough, and his own bedroom. It wouldn't be fair to expect Jack to share and Hotch wasn't so sure how comfortable he would be with the baby sleeping in his room with him. There certainly wasn't enough room for a nanny. After he'd finished his two or three circuits of his apartment, Hotch would invariably turn to the want ads in the newspaper and online. Unfortunately, every time he found that he couldn't afford a larger apartment. He was still paying for the house Haley and Jack were living in. That ate up a lot of his money right there.

Sighing, Hotch would pour himself a drink, walk over to his couch and sit down. Within minutes, he was asleep, every night.

By the end of the week, the trial dates for Doug and the others had been set. Now that Mary's trial was over, the other trials could be moved up. Hotch wasn't looking forward to them but the sooner they were over, the happier he'd be. He'd all ready faced the worst by being in the same room with Mary. As awful as Doug was, Hotch didn't think he'd react as badly to him, despite having been raped by the man. At least Hotch desperately hoped so.

During all his and Reid's talks with Rossi, they had covered pretty much everything. There were still nights when Hotch woke up in a cold sweat. He was quite sure that Reid was too. That would fade with time, especially once all the people involved were behind bars. Hotch knew all the levels of healing the two of them were going to have to pass through. Thanks to his training, he knew all too much about PTSD and everything else that could go wrong but he wasn't seeing the symptoms in either himself or Reid. He had no doubt whatever that Rossi would bench either one of them if the symptoms did begin to present themselves.

At the moment all Hotch had to deal with as trying to figure out what to do with Hope. It was Friday night and his team had left to enjoy their weekends. Parking his car in the parking lot at the hospital, Hotch paced through the night toward the nearest entrance. Despite all his training, Hotch still found it a little unnerving to walk in the dark alone. He supposed that eventually the apprehension would pass when nothing untoward happened to him but at the moment he felt incredibly open and vulnerable.

Finally, Hotch made his way through the sliding glass doors and stepped inside. He paused long enough to take a steadying breath. Feeling a little calmer, he continued on. Hotch paused in the cafeteria long enough to grab a quick meal, then he was headed for the nursery.

Hotch donned the now all too familiar gown, etc and stepped inside. It took half a minute for him to recognize the two people hovering over Hope's incubator. His first reaction was to push them away, to physically present a barrier between his child and whoever it was that was paying too much attention to her. Then he realized it was Rachel and Cullen. He was mildly surprised that the couple had been allowed into the nursery in the first place but then he had been there the first time they'd been allowed in.

"Hello," Hotch said as he stepped forward. Rachel was leaning over the glass container gazing down at the sleeping Hope while her hands were in the gloves and gently rubbing small circles on the baby's stomach. As he came closer, Hotch heard a low humming sound, Rachel had been singing quietly to her.

"Hi," Cullen responded as he turned toward the FBI agent. "Sorry, we couldn't resist coming in to check on her."

"That's fine," Hotch said. Rachel was so wrapped up in the baby that she hadn't even looked up at him yet. That simple act gave him hope. "I've been spending my evenings here all week. I'm still trying to figure out what's best for her."

"She needs someone who will love her and take care of her. Beyond that, nothing else really matters," Rachel stated. Her words were slightly muffled as she continued to stare at the child. There was something in the baby's face or her eyes that had stolen Rachel's heart. She'd all ready given up the idea of having a child of her own. She was too old, even if she and Cullen were to start right this minute to try to have a child, which wasn't going to happen any time soon, the chances of her becoming pregnant were slim to none. Looking at this child, though, seeing her childhood friend and Hotch in her had stolen her heart the moment she'd seen her.

"As much as I'd like to be that person, my life doesn't lend itself to being a single parent, at least not successfully," Hotch stated. He'd come up beside Rachel and was gazing down on his child as well. She was so peaceful, so perfect. It was so hard to believe the terrible act that had created her.

"I don't have a job. I kidnapped a young man because I was so lonely I couldn't stand it anymore. I don't think I'd make very good mother material," Rachel stated. She wasn't sure why she said it the words had just come tumbling out, no thought required.

"Having a job has very little to do with being a good parent. I admit it does help because it makes it possible to give the child everything it needs but it's not necessary," Hotch stated. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Cullen. He wanted to see what the deputy's response was to the woman's words. All he found was pain and understanding. Cullen knew how much Rachel still blamed herself for what had happened to all of them. He worked very hard at getting her to put it all behind her but it was a work in progress, for both of them.

"I would do anything for her," Rachel breathed unconsciously. Hope stirred under Rachel's gentle caresses. Her body was telling her that it was time to eat. A small squawk escaped from her tiny lips as her brown eyes fluttered open and came to rest blurrily on Rachel's face.

That was all Hotch had to hear. The details were going to be dicey to figure out but he all ready knew where he wanted Hope to go. It would do them both a world of good even though Hotch wasn't willing to relinquish the connection he had with the girl. Hope was his daughter and always would be. That was a fact that he would never allow to be changed. Feeling at peace for the first time in what felt like forever, Hotch watched as the nurse brought in Hope's bottle. He nodded toward Rachel when the nurse looked at him and held out the bottle. With a look of gratitude that was almost pathetic in its brilliance, Rachel accepted the bottle and carefully began feeding the little girl.

Yes, there were still details to work out, trials to sit through and hopefully sentencing hearings as well once all the people involved were found guilty. But for this moment, Hotch felt a sense of satisfaction he hadn't in a very long time. Things were finally beginning to turn out right again. With any luck at all, the trend would continue.

Heaving a great sigh, Hotch moved over to the rocking chair and sat down in it. He felt all the pent up tension began dripping away as he watched Rachel with Hope and Cullen with both of them. He'd made the right decision. He would pay Rachel to stay home. It would be cheaper than a nanny and Hope would get all the love she truly needed. As for the nightmares and the trials, the FBI agent decided to let them go for the moment. They would have to take care of themselves. He was with his daughter and her new family. Nothing else really mattered. For once everything felt like it had been worth it. Almost.

The End

_Yes, I know, a very sucky ending. It's the best I could come up with at the moment. Thank you all very much for sticking with me. I'll will probably be writing more Criminal Minds stories in the future but right now my attention has been drawn back to Emergency!. We'll see what happens. Thanks again for taking the time to read this story and especially for reviewing. I love hearing from you!_

_Bye for now._

_Susanne_


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